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This Old House

West Palm Beach (Part 4 of 8) (#2022)

Host Steve Thomas checks in with homeowner Rob Thompson as renovation work continues on the West Palm Beach project house. While the new lap pool is installed behind the house, progress continues with the kitchen expansion. Master carpenter Norm Abram finds the transformation of the former garage into a home office for Rob's interior design business well underway. [26 minutes]

This episode has not aired in the past few months on Iowa Public Television.

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"This Old House" starts renovation work on an 1880s Victorian home in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Host Steve Thomas and Norm Abram take the Nantucket steamship to the island. Abram shows Thomas the building he worked on in his first general contracting job. They meet up with designer, Jock Gifford, to discuss and tour the home on Main Street. They also meet with general contractor, Bruce Killen and homeowners, Craig and Kathy McGraw Bentley. [26 minutes]

"This Old House" continues their work on the renovation of an 1880s Victorian home in Nantucket, Massachusetts. The program opens up with David Goodman teaching host Steve Thomas and Norm Abram cast fishing. Back at the house, designer Jock Gifford shows a 3-D model of his proposed architectural changes to the homeowners. Gifford tours the community with Abram to photograph current architectural details to show the HDC (Historic District Commission.) The HDC must approve of any changes made to the homes. Richard Trethewey talks about the various types of energy used in Nantucket and tells how energy is brought to the island. [26 minutes]

"This Old House" continues their work on an 1880s Victorian home in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Host Steve Thomas visits the Unitarian Universalist Church built in 1809. The church's tall steeple with gold dome and clock defines the Nantucket skyline. Inside the church, Rev. Ted Anderson shows Thomas the faux painting which emulates architectural design elements. They also take a tour up the interior of the church's tower. Back at the house, Norm Abram views the gutted interior. Abram watches as concrete is poured for the footing for the new bump-out. Abram travels to the concrete plant on Nantucket and learns what it takes to bring in the ingredients for concrete to the island. Designer Jock Gifford was able to get the home's extension approved by the Historic District Commission, but was unable to get the facade okayed. Former occupant of the home, Syd Conway shows pictures of the home with its original Victorian facade. Homeowner Craig Bentley finds many unusual items and the home's original doors in the tiny crawlspace. [26 minutes]

"This Old House" continues their renovation work on an 1880s Victorian home in Nantucket, Massachusetts. The program opens with Norm Abram out in the Nantucket Boat Basin with lobsterman/contractor, Pierre Garneau. They fish out two lobsters from the lobster traps. Back at the home, the old brick chimney is removed and the bricks are saved. The kitchen is almost completely demolished, leaving only the foundation and the sills. After the existing joists are cut, a springboard is assembled to hold together the home while an enforcement beam is added for the new second level. Abram learns the best method for mixing concrete motar. Host Steve Thomas tours the old (1695) family home and grounds of the designer, Jock Gifford. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas opens this episode with a visit to the Coast Guard Light Station at Sankaty Head, Massachusetts. Thomas tours the 1850 lighthouse which is living on borrowed time. The lighthouse is built on a bluff which is rapidly melting away due to beach erosion from winter storms. "This Old House" continues their renovation work on an 1880s Victorian home in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Because of structural problems, the home needed totally new framing and new floors. General contractor, Bruce Killen, shows Norm Abram all the changes. Designer Jock Gifford and homeowner, Kathy McGraw Bentley view a sample unit of a window with true divided light. Thomas visits Siasconset, MA touring the architecture of the area from the tiny homes built in the 1600s to a casino that was built in the 1880s when New York actors moved into the area. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas and Norm Abram open the program with a trip to the waterfront to rake for clams. Abram shows Thomas how to open up the clams and enjoy them. Back at the house, Abram watches as the home's new addition is constructed. Thomas learns how to build a roof that will last 50 years. Due to the driving rains, thick cedar shingles are selected. The roofer describes other techniques and materials used to prevent roof rot and ice dams. Richard Trethewey talks with the homeowner about heating methods. Because of the expense of bringing fuels to the island, Trethewey strongly recommends using a geothermal heat pump. Trethewey and Thomas visit a home on the island that uses this method for heating. Thomas and Abram take the home's original doors to see if they can be repaired, updated, and made water-tight. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas and Norm Abram visit the Old North Wharf, looking at one of the cottages named after ships that once sailed. Back at the house, Killen states that the Historic District Commission has okayed the chimney, skylight, and trim colors. Abram tries his hand at placing mortar over the foundation's surface. Thomas learns how to make special roof designs: a diamond feature and staggered shingles. Abram watches as the home's original doors are refurbished. Thomas tours the upstairs with lighting designer to see what type of lighting fixtures will be placed upstairs. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas opens up the program with a visit to the Nantucket Whaling Museum where he learns about whales and the Nanatucket's whaling industry. Back at the house, Richard Trethewey and Norm Abram watch as wells are drilled for the ground-coupled heat pump. Thomas tours Nantucket to see the many parcels of land purchased by the Nantucket Land Bank Commission. The commission perserves these lands and keeps them open for the public. Homeowner Kathy McGraw Bentley reviews kitchen plans and selects flooring. The lighting fixtures are also selected and discussed with the electrician. It is easier for the electrician to run in the wiring needed for the lighting fixtures at the framing stage. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas opens this episode with a visit to the African Meeting House which is being renovated. Originally built in 1820, this was a school for free Blacks. Norm Abram and Bruce Killen work on the house's original double doors in Killen's workshop. In addition to repairing the doors, Abram and Killen add weather-stripping. The work on the house in Nantucket is based on stick-built construction which is a costly process. However, this is not as costly as the construction of homes in Switzerland. Thomas goes to Basel, Switzerland to see how homes are contructed there. Thomas tours the Haring Corporation where they fabricate wooden components for building modular homes. Along with the owner of the Haring Corporation, Thomas visits one of these modular low cost, low energy alternative houses. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas opens this episode with a visit to Folger's Marsh where a U.S. Life Saving Station replica stands. This station now acts as a museum containing photos and relics of the days when the station would rescue victims of ship wrecks. Back at the house, Thomas talks with the various contractors. The mason constructs round fire box. The electrician installs electrical boxes upstairs. She recommends using the outside of non-metallic sheath cabling to label all the different wires in the electrical boxes. The vacuum system contractor shows how this central vacuum will be installed. To knock down the noise, the plumber uses cast iron pipes. Norm Abram creates brackets for the entranceway. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas opens this episode with a visit to the Wharf Rat Club on the Old North Wharf. Thomas talks with the members about their club and its legacy. Back at the house, Norm Abram discusses the new windows with Bruce Killen, the general contractor. Thomas watches as foam insulation is sprayed on the old slat boards in the home. High density fiberglass is added to the other walls. Abram creates the decorative element for the large brackets he made in the last show. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas opens this episode with a visit to Dr. Tim Lepore. Lepore, an avid falconer, discusses tick-borne diseases. Lepore tells how red tail hawks consume the mice that spread the ticks and what people can do to avoid getting Lyme's Disease. Back at the house, Richard Trethewey surveys the heating and cooling distribution system. Trethewey meets with Ken Wiggin Jr. to learn how the metal ducts for the distribution system are fabricated. Norm Abram teaches Thomas how to do side wall shingling. Thomas tours Nantucket's landfill and learns what Nantucket is doing to recycle. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas opens this episode with a tour of the Dreamland Theatre, the only movie theater on Nantucket Island. Built in 1829, this fabulous structure is for sale. Back at the house, Norm Abram watches as the replica of the original glass is added to the original doors. Due to the island's high humidity, blue board is used througout the house. Thomas and designer, Jock Gifford visits another home on the island to get ideas on kitchen designs. They then go to a home center to see what design items are available. Richard Trethewey helps to install heat pump piping in the basement. Thomas and Abram discusses the deck being installed in the back. [26 minutes]

In the first project of THIS OLD HOUSE's 18th season, host Steve Thomas and master carpenter Norm Abram join forces with local craftsmen to renovate and restore an 1800s Victorian house on the island of Nantucket. For the second project they head to Tucson, Arizona, to remodel a 1920s-vintage pueblo-style house. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas and master carpenter Norm Abramson continue their exploration of architectural styles and traditions in Nantucket. In this episode, we begin with a brief visit to a scallops hatchery with Rob Garrison, director of the Nantucket Marine Lab. Steven and Norm return to a Victorian house they're restoring and talk with general contractor Bruce Killen and several craftsmen about the exterior paint job and putty work. Inside the house, Norm talks with finish carpenter Joe Tapham about wooden window mouldings and installation. Steven takes a visit to the backyard with landscaper Michael Flanagan who builds stone walls without mortar. In the last segment, Norm talks with plasterer Howie Nair about how to recreate antique plaster moulding, and energy conservation specialist David Weitz determines how energy efficient the house is after the restoration. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas and Master Carpenter Norm Abram observe the continuing restoration ofa Victorian home in Nantucket. Norm observes the installation of an old-fashioned tin ceiling in the kitchen, while Steve talks to workmen as they install a new kind of tub surround in the upstairs bathroom. Norm watches Dave Goodman install clay floor tiles, and Steve makes a side trip to Ruoaben, Wales to see just how the tiles are made. [26 minutes]

In this next-to-last episode dealing with the restoration of a Victorian home, Host Steve Thomas starts out with a tour of a cranberry bog. Then it's on to the home itself, where he and master carpenter Norm Abram go on a tour of the house to review the "punch" list-- a last list of detailed work to be taken care of before the final day of construction. Norm talks with flooring contractor Chuck Davis, as he restores original wooden boards found in the home into a polished finished floor. Plumbing and Heating consultant Richard Trethewey interviews Carl Orio as he fires up the new heating and cooling system. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas and master carpenter Norm Abram go over the final details in the last episode on the remodeling of a Nantucket Victorian home. The Victorian-style lighting and sink fixtures, appliances, and a modern version of a hide-away bed in the family room are highlighted. Thomas makes a side trip to a light fixture factory with a unique showroom, talking with manager Marcus Earley about direct versus indirect lighting. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas and master carpenter Norm Abram visit Tucson, Arizona for a remodeling job on an old pueblo-style home built in the 1920's. They take us on a tour of the sights of the area, getting a feel for the land and prevalent colors of the region. Then we see what the home looks like on a tour given by the homeowners, who discuss their plans for the house, while Abram looks at the serious structural problems that will need to be fixed over the next 8 episodes. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas and Master Carpenter Norm Abram continue the remodeling job on an old pueblo-style home built in the 1920's. Thomas explores the restoration of a historic cathedral located on a Native American reservation, in which building techniques of long ago are being used by modern masons to restore its architecture. The Meig's home has been gutted; now contractors concentrate on the support structures and internal plumbing. Norm Abram talks with homeowner Jim Meigs and various contractors about a new form of "concrete" block made largely of recycled styrofoam, and Thomas discovers a newer, more durable non-metallic plumbing material: plastic tubing. [26 minutes]

This episode is a continuation of the remodeling of a pueblo-style home built in Arizona in the 1920's. The tile floor has been removed from the library; host Steve Thomas observes as concrete, colored red with synthetic iron oxide, is tamped down to bring out the "cream", the finer sand particles. It is then scraped to a smooth finish. Master carpenter Norm Abram goes into town to visit with cabinetmaker Marshall Dennington, to check on the progress of the mesquite cabinets that are being built to go in the kitchen. Heating consultuant Richard Trethewey goes over the system that will heat and cool the house. Finally, as always, Thomas and Abrams take in some of the sights of the area, visiting a national park and an old Tucson movie studio. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas and master carpenter Norm Abram fortify themselves with breakfast in one of the many traditional Mexican restaurants located in Arizona. Then they check on the progress of the construction so far in this latest of a series of episodes observing the remodeling of a 1920's pueblo-style home in Tucson. Abram looks on as the old, peeling stucco is removed from the outside of the house, and replaced with a newer, longer-lasting substance. The floor of the back patio will be covered in decorative Mexican tiles; Thomas takes a visit to the simple factory in San Miguel, Mexico that manufactures them. Finally, contractor James Murdock explains just how the lap pool in the back patio will work once it's fully installed. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas and Master Carpenter Norm Abram continue their observation of the remodeling of an old pueblo-style home built in Arizona in the 1920's. First, Abram takes a visit to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, a zoo for animals native to the region, to take a look at how newer, more natural forms of animal exhibits are constructed. Back at the house, the construction is moving at a rapid pace, as stucco is applied to the exterior, wood floors with walnut accents are laid out, more energy efficient windows are installed throughout the home, and the plumbing in the master bathroom is set. We also learn why this particular house has more than one central air conditioning/heating unit. [26 minutes]

This episode of THIS OLD HOUSE starts off with a tour of the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center, a facility in Tucson, Arizona where the nation's fleet of aging warplanes are stored for future spare parts, restoration, or sale. Back at the remodeling jobsite on the old 1920's pueblo-style home, contractors pour solid concrete to form countertops in the kitchen; when completed, they will weigh 450 to 500 pounds. Master carpenter Norm Abram examines the floor-to-ceiling custom black walnut bookshelves installed in the old master bedroom, while host Steve Thomas takes a look at a house off-site constructed of a cheap alternative building material: hay bales. Thomas also talks with contractor Sam Burgess about the latest in shower doors. [26 minutes]

In this next-to-last episode featuring the restoration of a 1920's pueblo-style home in Arizona, host Steve Thomas and master carpenter Norm Abram explore the Congress Hotel, a landmark structure built in 1919 when the railroads first arrived in Tucson. Back at the house, the driveway is being laid with gray masonry units, and lap pool is completed. Plumbing and heating consultant Richard Trethewey talks with a city official from the Tucson Water Department about the difficulties involved in trying to maintain an adequate source of water in the middle of a desert. Thomas looks at a unique method of removable window cover involving liquid crystals suspended in a mylar gel, while Abram checks on the progress of the hardwood floors and cabinets in the library. [26 minutes]

In this final episode of the series on the restoration of a 1920's pueblo-style home in Tucson, Arizona, host Steve Thomas starts off with a tour of Biosphere Two, a famous experimental community in which the inhabitants lived virtually self-sufficiently for several months. Then he and master carpenter Norm Abram check the final progress on the jobsite, going on a room-by-room inspection tour. Abram observes as the last stucco application is completed on the exterior, and a state-of-the-art roofing cover that reflects heat is installed. With the finishing architectural details and interior design complete, the Meigs throw a completion party in their newly landscaped courtyard. [26 minutes]

Hosts Steve Thomas and Norm Abram normally observe the restoration homes owned by others. In this unusual season opener however, they begin work on the restoration of a house actually owned by THIS OLD HOUSE. The home is a 250-year old structure built sometime in the early 1700's in Milton, Massachusetts. Thomas and Abram tour both the interior and the exterior of the home with general contractor Tom Silva, looking for the potential structural problems that will have to be repaired during the course of the restoration. At the end of the construction project, the home will be sold to the highest bidder. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas and master carpenter Norm Abram begin work on the restoration of a 250-year old home in Massachusetts owned by THIS OLD HOUSE. Workers demolish an unsalvageable addition to the barn on the property, with the intent of replacing it with a new workshop later on. Thomas leads architect Rick Bechtel through a tour of the interior of the house to get some ideas for sketches detailing the new layout of the rooms. Heating and plumbing consultant Richard Trethewey also drops by to look at the existing heating system and bathrooms of the house. Thomas also visits the Kips Bay Designer Showcase in New York to take a look at 16 magnificent rooms by some of America's top designers. [26 minutes]

THIS OLD HOUSE visits the Great Blue Hill Observatory, located in a structure built in 1885. The observatory has taken continuous readings of the weather longer than any facility in the U.S. Back at the restoration of the historic Massachusetts home, master carpenter Norm Abram and host Steve Thomas discuss with a series of experts their plans for the project, which include: converting the barn into a garage, restoring the driveway leading to the front of the house, installing insulation, changing the arrangement of the interior rooms, and repairing the damaged coats of paint on the exterior of the house. [26 minutes]

The restoration of a 250 year-old home located in Massachusetts continues in this episode of THIS OLD HOUSE. Host Steve Thomas and master carpenter Norm Abram remove all the shingles on the exterior old barn with the intention of replacing them later, and replace the wooden support posts on the interior. A major support post, located in a room formerly known as the kitchen, is also removed in a complex operation, and replaced with a new beam made of a sandwich of wood and steel. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas and Master Carpenter continue the restoration of a 18th Century home in this edition of THIS OLD HOUSE. Plumbing and heating consultant Richard Trethewey shows Abram the progress on the installation of radiant heat in the old barn, while electronic systems designer Steve Hayes shows Thomas around a home theater display to get some ideas for the media room at the house. Virtual reality designer shows Abram his dream workshop in 3-D, using computer animation, and painting contractor Brooks Washburn demonstrates how to strip layers of paint using a solvent that's safe for wood. [26 minutes]

Steve Thomas and Norm Abram continue the work of restoring an 18th Century Massachusetts home in this episode of THIS OLD HOUSE. General Contrator Tom Silva and crew put up the whole workshop, using structured insulated panels for the walls, while Abram looks at samples of metal roofing. Thomas also takes a visit to the workshop of furniture and finishes restorer Robert Mussey to discuss paint and surface restoration for the interior of the home, and also talks with a landscape architect and a civil engineer about their plans for changing the course of the driveway. [26 minutes]

It's been two weeks since cameras have been on the construction site of the restoration of an 18th century farmhouse in Massachusetts. General contractor Tom Silva takes host Steve Thomas on a tour of the worksite, looking at the progess being made on the framing for the entertainment center, laundry room and new kitchen. Master carpenter Norm Abram looks on as metal roofing specialist John Dumke uses machinery to form the metal panels for the roof on the workshop. [26 minutes]

Julia Child and Marian Morash visit this Old House to assist in the designing of the kitchen; the chefs suggest materials for the counters, cook tops, sinks, and floors. Continuing with the overall construction of the house, the show focuses on tips for hiding wires for maintaining the beauty of the house, protection of the house's roof from inclement weather, solutions for plumbing problems, materials for decking, and the process of weatherstripping. Viewers are also introduced to several of the complex and simple tools used in construction. [26 minutes]

This Old House focuses on the methods for conserving energy during the cold season by explaining the process and cost of installing or revamping heating and water systems. Experts in these two areas are interviewed, informing viewers of the incentive programs for homeowners to convert easily to gas heat. Weathervane installation, excavation procedures for landscaping, and screen systems against bug intrusions are also covered in this episode, as well as a short interior decorating lesson on laying out the master bedroom and bathroom and deciding paint schemes. [26 minutes]

While Norm and Tom work on the layout of the driveway, and monitor the installation of the garage doors and windows, Steve Thomas accompanies a realtor to look at properties for sale in Milton, Massachusettes, in hopes of determining the value of "this old house." Lighting designer, Josh Feinstein, and landscape architect, Tom Wirth are also interviewed. [26 minutes]

In this episode of THIS OLD HOUSE, viewers accompany host Steve Thomas as he observes the final workings of the project. Tom Silva explains the system sequence for painting a house, while Seth Knipe describes the process for keeping the paint looking rich and fresh for years. Don Sawyer reviews the method for insulating the media room, the master bedroom, and crawl spaces throughout the house. Meanwhile, as the final steps of landscaping continue, Roger Cook , Ken Moura, and Bob Sparker finish the installation of the in-ground sprinkler system and the seeding of the lawn. Paving contractor Larry Torti takes the audience through the steps and costs for finishing the driveway. While Norm Abramson works on the screens for the house's porch, Thomas finalizes the kitchen designs with Phil Mossgraber. [26 minutes]

This episode of THIS OLD HOUSE shows viewers the mini-processes for installing electricity, designing a fully equipped exercise room, tiling a bathroom, repaneling a dining room, and plumbing. Landscapers are also interviewed for advice on saving trees that may have sentimental value to an estate. [26 minutes]

Behind the doors of old houses always exists history. Hosts Norm Abramson, Steve Thomas, and Tom Silva consult with writer and archiectural historian Daniel S. Levy as they explore the backgrounds of past inhabitants of "this old house." The finishing details of the house continue with the installation of the central vac, the wine cellar, and the gutters. Phil Mossgraber visits to finalize the cabinet designs, and Tom and Norm briefly explain the processes for heating and floor insulation, as well as sound proofing an entire house. [26 minutes]

In the first project of THIS OLD HOUSE's 19th season, host Steve Thomas and master carpenter Norm Abram are joined by contractors Rich Trethewey and Tom Silva to renovate and update a New England Colonial, circa 1724. The kitchen will be designed by chefs Julia Child and Marian Morash, the workshop designed by Norm Abram and the landscaping done by The Victory Garden. The second project is TBA. [26 minutes]

This episode of This Old House leads viewers on a tour of an old historic building and through several of the processes of its internal and external renovation. A recurrent guest on the program, Roger Cook explains detailing a driveway, while Steve Thomas introduces us to a counter fabricator and painting contractor. Tom Silva focuses on the design of the patio and the processes for laying brick and laminating floors. Master carpenter, Norm Abram closes out the program with an explaination of the benefits of using medium fiberboard instead of pine. [26 minutes]

One of the last programs devoted to the renovation of a historic Victorian house, this episode of THIS OLD HOUSE traces Steve Thomas' steps as he examines the wood refinishing of the front door, counter installation, and the electrical plumbing of the bathrooms. Interior decorators are also consulted as the finishing touches are placed on the gourmet kitchen, the master bedroom, and the family parlor. The process for creating exquisite murals on a ceiling is explained, while Norm Abram joins us from his wood shop to explain the correct method for laying floating wood floors. [26 minutes]

This Old House's Steve Thomas takes viewers on a tour of the renovated Victorian as the finishing details are added. Landscape contractor Roger Cook explains the reasons for laying sod in one area and seeding another, while a security systems contractor is consulted for updates about new techology for securing homes. The audience is led from room to room to view the hanging of light fixtures, painting and lighting of the kitchen, and carpet installation. The designs for both the laundry room and closets, as well as the media room, and the home office are explained. [26 minutes]

This Old House completes the renovation project of a Victorian home by concentrating on the interior decorations throughout each room. Steve Thomas once again brings viewers on a tour as we explore the kitchen, the dining room, the front parlor, and the family room. Viewers are taken outside to view the garden patio, and decorators for each room of the house are interviewed as they explain the reasons behind deciding certain patterns for the guest suite, the master suite, and the exercise room. To bid farewell to this project the audience joins Steve, Tom, and Norm for a party in the media room. [26 minutes]

This Old House's Norm Abram and Steve Thomas travel across the country to San Francisco, California to begin their new renovation project, a churh that the owners want to convert into a contemporary-styled home. Thomas, a native of San Francisco, gives the history behind the City by the Bay and takes viewers on a tour of several of its major landmarks. With the project only in the planning stages, Steve meets with the homeowners and an architect to create a model of the renovated house, while Norm discusses the beginning construction details with the general contractor. [26 minutes]

Norm Abram and Steve Thomas continue their start-to-finish renovation project in San Francisco by examining the different machines for the project, the layout of the main room, the treatment of pests and termites, and the insulation and radiant heating of the house. Steve follows one of the homeowners to a retail store for some decorating ideas, while Norm works with a seismic contractor to determine the building's strength against eartquakes. [26 minutes]

Enjoying the sites of San Francisco, This Old House's Norm Abrams and Steve Thomas show viewers the progress on the church renovation project. They identify sturdy materials used to build the the Golden Gate Bridge, while Richard explains the various uses for recycling materials, the installation process for radiant heating, and the equipment needed for fireplace construction. Norm takes viewers upstairs to view the framing of the guest bedroom, while Steve consults with a specialist on sturdy windows ideal for keeping heat in and sound out. Viewers also follow homeowner, Mark Dvorak, on a tour of a salvage store to find various old but beautiful bathrooms fixtures. [26 minutes]

This week's episode of This Old House opens in the Muir Woods National Monument in Mill Valley, California as Norm Abrams and Steve Thomas introduce viewers to several of the tallest and oldest trees in the world. Meanwhile back in San Francisco, general contractor Dan Plummer explains the problems the renovation project has been experiencing because of torrential rains. Norm and Steve return to the house to review the installation processes of the sprinkler system, tubing for heating the kitchen, and an earthquake-safe chimney. The program closes with a visit to Oakland, California where the audience meets a custom door designer. [26 minutes]

This episode of This Old House opens in Coloma, California, where Norm and Steve trace the origins of the Gold Rush. While Norm continues panning for gold in Caloma, Steve returns to San Francisco to oversee the church renovation project. The difference between storm drains on the western and the eastern coasts of the country. Subcontractors continue the installation processes for the siding, vintage bathroom fixtures, energy efficient windows, and hot water heating. Viewers are shown the finished custom dutch doors. [26 minutes]

This week's THIS OLD HOUSE provides viewers with a taste of history as Steve Thomas takes viewers on a tour of Alcatraz, once a high security prison, now a national park. Activities of prisoners, such as the infamous Al Capone, are explained. Meanwhile back in San Francisco, the renovation project continues. Norm installs the front doors, while Steve returns to speak with contractors about bathroom and kitchen tiling, the building and installation of custom cabinet doors, and plumbing. [26 minutes]

The final episode of the church renovation project, this program opens in Ren County, California with a tour of a Frank Lloyd Wright architectural structure. Viewers return to San Francisco to observe the completion phase of the project where Norm explains the process for fixing the trimming and hardware on kitchen windows, while homeowner Mark Dvorak explains the usefullness of a frontloading washer. Steve returns to review the newest technology in security systems and takes viewers on a tour of the kitchen. As is customary to This Old House, the program closes with a housewarming party. [26 minutes]

Steve and Norm open this season of "This Old House" with a tour of several old houses as they search for this season's renovation project. A sixteen room, five-thousand square-foot home is chosen after much analyses of the exterior and interior of the home, including the electrical wiring and plumbing. [26 minutes]

This week on "This Old House" Norm and Steve take viewers on a tour of the Watertown Arsenal, the second oldest arsenal in the U.S. Black and white clips give the history of this Massachusetts landmark. Back on the project Norm demonstrates various methods for removing the exterior paint from an old house, while homeowners Susen Denny and Christian Nolen take Steve on a tour of a house similar to the picture that they hope for theirs. The project's architect is introduced, and Tom Silva analyzes the potential dangers for the house's outdated appliances. [26 minutes]

This week on "This Old House" Steve Thomas teams up with realtor John Petrowsky to tour several of the million dollar old houses located in Watertown. Norm meanwhile makes plans for the removal and relocation of one of the project's three staircases. Virtual designer Diane Davis visits to present a computer program that allows homeowners to see a 3-D layout of the architectural design of their homes, and the difficult process of asbestos removal is reviewed. [26 minutes]

This week on "This Old House," Steve and Tom Silva take viewers on a tour of the renovation project to view its progress, thus far. Steve speaks with a landscape contractor for her thoughts on the condition of the grounds. Meanwhile, Norm shares his video memoir of a western cowboy trip he took last year in Montana. [26 minutes]

This week on "This Old House," Steve take viewers on a tour of the house to review the progress inside and outside. Roger Cooke supervises the removal of weeds and unwanted trees in preparation for landscaping and the determination of property lines. Norm meets with Tom Silva as they continue work on the stairway's construction and analyze the condition of the chimney and fireplace. [26 minutes]

This week on "This Old House," Norm, Steve, and Tom take viewers on a tour to examine the progress made thus far on the interior of the house. Steve visits a wholesale appliance store where he introduces viewers to the latest innovations in kitchen appliances. Steve Hayes describes the process for wiring an old house for the new millenium. [26 minutes]

While Steve takes viewers on to the industrial section of Watertown, Massachusetts to tour an old Queen Anne style Victorian, Norm and Tom battle with carpenter ants and termites as they continue work on this season's project by stripping the house's siding. Richard visits with thoughts for the heating and cooling systems, and Andrea Gilmore, conservation specialist, offers interior and exterior designing ideas. [26 minutes]

This week on "This Old House," while Norm and Tom attempt to remedy the house's termite problem, Steve and homeowner Christian Nolan take viewers on an interior tour of the first floor. Roger Cooke begins landscaping, and a member of Dig Safe visits with important information on marking the location ofa home's utility lines. [26 minutes]

This week on "This Old House," Steve consults with pest control specialist Steve Marken on progress on removing termites and other rodents. Tom Silva reivews the house's piping, and Roger Cook continues landscaping. Homeowners Susan Denny and Christian Nolen meet with Steve to review the color schemes for the house's exterior and the home's natural and electrical lighting. [26 minutes]

This week on "This Old House," work on the Victorian project continues as insulating foam is installed, the chimney is repaired, and the lawn is put in. Tom Silva works on the deck, and Steve travels to "The New Yankee Workshop" to visit with Norm who demonstrates how to build oak paneling. [26 minutes]

The outdoor appearance of the Watertown project is taking shape this week as landscaping contractor Roger Cook and crew unload a truck full of plants and work to place them around the yard, while painter Steve Kiernan and his team begin work on the exterior paint job. Host Steve Thomas and landscape architect Clarissa Rowe oversee the installation of a trellis along the driveway. Inside, master carpenter Norm Abram finds terrazzo specialist Fred Morgan busy prepping the kitchen for its new floor. Down in the basement, drainage expert Bill Clayton shows Norm the new perimeter drain designed to handle any incoming water that might sneak past the outdoor system. Outside, Steve and Norm find masonry contractor Lenny Belliveau using the fresh granite from Norm's visit to the quarry to complete the look of the foundation at the front of the house. [26 minutes]

This week on "This OLd House," Steve and Norm meet with contractors who advise on the color scheme for the house's exterior and the garage, the heat and water systems, tiling, and the plumbing and lighting throughout the entire house. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas heads to Salt Lake City for a tour of the country's biggest copper mine and a step-by-step look at how one ton of raw ore is turned into twelve pounds of copper. Master carpenter Norm Abram and general contractor Tom Silva install wainscoting fashioned from oak paneling made by Norm at THE NEW YANKEE WORKSHOP. [26 minutes]

This week on "This Old House," Norm and Steve take viewers to visit one of the largest Armenian grocery stores in the country. Back at the house the copper gutters are installed, and Steve meets with specialists who explain where copper comes from and the process for installing hardwood floors. [26 minutes]

This week on "This Old House," work continues on the "watertown" project continues as a walkway is paved, the staircases are shalacked, and work begins on the kitchen. Norm visits with custom cabinet maker - Ted Goodnow who explains how cabinets are made. [26 minutes]

This week on "This Old House," work on the "Watertown" house continues with help from all five Silva brothers. With the holiday just around the corner, landscaping work begins with the help of Roger Cook, surfacing are painted, and insulating foam is installed. Steve visits with Don Martini, an alarm system specialist. [26 minutes]

This week on "This Old House, " the final touches are put on the "Watertown" home in just enough time for a party put on by homeowners Christian Nolen and Susan Denny. Those last minute "touches" include finishing one sink in the bathroom, wallpapering and decorative painting. [26 minutes]

This week on "This Old House," Norm and Steve voyage to Key West, Florida to begin renovation on a an old Methodist church. The program contains a review of the framing process, the finished project's layout, and tips for project preparation. [26 minutes]

This week on "This Old House," Steve Thomas takes a look back in time when he visits "The Little White House" in Key West, Florida. It was so named in 1949 by President Harry S. Truman who came there to recuperate. Norm and Tom discuss restoration to a Key West home. Richard gets a walking tour with City Commissioner - Merili McCoy - who explains about water filtration in the city of Key West. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas visits two of Florida's most interesting real estate developments -- Key West's Truman Annex and Orlando's Celebration. Host Steve Thomas is given a tour of the much talked about town by one of the project's architects and THIS OLD HOUSE series alumnus Graham Gund (he served as architect for This Old House's 1992 Lexington ranch renovation). Back at the job site, the renovation process is in high gear as the old porch is demolished to make way for a new one with refined Key West-style. [26 minutes]

Master carpenter Norm Abram revisits Savannah, Georgia, to convince the THIS OLD HOUSE alums at Savannah Millworks (they built the doors for the Savannah Victorian Italianate rowhouse in 1995) to build the library for the Key West project. Host Steve Thomas reports on the considerations involved in insulating island homes and checks out the new, historically accurate windows, which will replace the project house's old metal louvers. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas checks out the installation of the new Italian kitchen. Master carpenter Norm Abram travels to a nearby Marathon Key woodworking shop to learn how they craft wooden shutters for island homes, and then makes it back to the project house in time to watch the installation of the new library. And finally, the project house is crowned with a storm-tolerant, "v-crimp" galvanized roof. [26 minutes]

This week on "This Old House," the finishing touches are put on the Key West home...tile is laid, the backyard is landscaped and a pool is installed. The work is finished in just enough time for a big celebration put on by homeowners Micheal Miller and Helen Colley. [26 minutes]

This project begins with a visit to Chub Whitten's Colonial home in Ipswich, Massachusetts, which the program toured at the beginning of the previous season. Then it was a burned wreck; now, a year later, it is impeccably restored. After Dick Silva talks about the fire, he leads a tour of the ruins of the house. Then Steve meets with Dick and his wife Sandra to discuss their plans for the future, which are to rebuild on the same spot. [26 minutes]

We visit the Billerica Fire Dept. to hear about what it was like to fight the Silva fire, and how it might have been prevented or at least kept more manageable. Back at the house, our host meets with the Silvas' insurance agent, who explains the benefits of having a " guaranteed replacement cost" endorsement on one's homeowner's policy" it provides for rebuilding after a complete loss. Public insurance adjuster (and former TOH homeowner) Dick Benedetti shows us some of the process by which he is writing up the insurance claim for the Silvas. Architect Chris Dallmus begins to discuss the design of the new structure with homeowners Dick and Sandra Silva, while outside a perc test is run for the new septic system and landscape contractor Roger Cook takes an inventory of the plants that did and did not survive the fire. [26 minutes]

Tom recounts the day the machines came to tear down Dick and Sandra's old house. All that's left is a hole in the ground. Arborist Matt Foti and his crew take down two 75-year-old Eastern white pines damaged by the fire and cut them into 2x10 planks on a mobile saw mill. An environmental testing crew arrives to take soil samples, as the fire department suspects fuel oil was spilled on site during the fire. If tests show that concentrations are high enough, a mitigation will be required by the state's departed of environmental protection. Another team arrives to re-establish the height of the water table, digging a hole by hand, to satisfy the town's building department that the foundation's proposed elevation is legal. Architect Chris Dallmus shows us a model of the house-to-be, a four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath structure whose style Chris describes as "village Victorian," modelled after some houses he found in Billerica's town center. [26 minutes]

A full month after our last time on site, the foundation is just being completed, the construction schedule having fallen victim to a three-week soil cleanup process. With the complex, 30-corner foundation walls up, it's time for a proactive termite treatment beneath the slab, using a new class of chemical that, rather than acting as a barrier, allows termites to enter the treated zone unknowingly, upon which they die. Its continuing efficacy in the ground has been proven for seven years and counting. Before the slab is poured, the crew installs an underlayment of 2" styrofoam insulation and a clip-in system for radiant heat"at half the price it was only a few years ago, Richard insists we put the tubing in every slab we pour, even if it isn't used right away. Then our host takes viewers to a Florida house built by a major insurance company to showcase tips for loss mitigation"everything from sprinklers to kick-proof door jambs. Back at the site, the slab is poured, and homeowners Dick and Sandra Silva try to choose a brick veneer for the new foundation. [26 minutes]

Homeowner Dick Silva gives a tour of the newly framed up first floor, and Tom Silva shows some of the hallmarks of a good framing system. In the basement, our master carpenter explains how the floor joists meet two steel beams to maximize headroom, while metal fabricator Our host di Orio and crew weld a metal post in position. We then visit the Florida factory where the wooden I-beams used in the house's floor are made"25 miles' worth a day. Back on site, architect Chris Dallmus explains some of the strategies he's using to reduce the mass and appearance of the proposed three-car garage. Finally, framing contractor Eric Machemer and crew raise the last of the first-floor walls and the building begins to climb into the sky. [26 minutes]

Homeowner Dick Silva gives a tour of the framed and sheathed house and reports that he and Sandra have received a very satisfactory insurance settlement on the structure; the settlement on the contents awaits a complete inventory. We pay a visit to the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, where firefighters learn hands-on the techniques that save lives and buildings. Back at the house, the crew discusses the fine points of shed dormers, while framing contractor Eric Pierce puts one together in a fast and professional way. Mason Lenny Belliveau shows us his system: veneer brick on the concrete foundation face, a matching full brick for the chimney. [26 minutes]

The new windows have arrived. They're made from an extruded composite of PVC and sawdust, and we visit Minnesota to see the factory. The crew puts up corner trim using two layers of cementitious board, while mason Lenny Belliveau shows us a new tool that extrudes cement grout like icing for a cake. Lenny forms the new hearth, and the guys move on to installing one of the new windows. [26 minutes]

Our master carpenter and general contractor take over Dick's Quonset hut to set up a woodworking shop, forcing Dick to take his restored 1931 Ford Roadster pickup truck up to the new garage. He gives us a tour, then we meet James Crowe, inventor of a synthetic slate made from recycled automotive rubber and industrial plastic trimmings. Cast in molds, it looks almost exactly like the real thing, yet is lighter, less fragile, and a quarter of the cost. Roofer Mark Mulloy shows how it's going on the building and predicts that, if it lasts as long as Crowe claims (a minimum of 50 years), it will be a real hit. In the workshop, tool technician Scott Box helps the guys set up and calibrate the new table saw, shaper, planer, joiner and chop saw, while Richard Trethewey shows us the factors that determined the layout of the house's waste pipes. Finally, the guys put the finishing touches on an assembly table, the first piece to be made in the new on-site workshop. [26 minutes]

The local electric utility is on site to bring power across the street to a new pole positioned in a discrete spot along the front edge of the Silvas' property. Far cheaper than digging beneath the road, this method will still allow for electricity, cable, and telephone wires to be undergrounded to the house, avoiding unsightly overhead wires. Inside the house, kitchen designer Phil ossgraber and Sandra Silva are going over her wish list for the kitchen; our host joins them as Phil suggests eliminating a closet in the mudroom and putting in a service door to the dining room, a good idea Sandy embraces. Richard Trethewey is on site with the head of the American Fire Sprinkler Association, seeing the first steps in designing a sprinkler system for the house, while our host visits Underwriters Laboratories to see how they test all kind of materials relating to fire and fire safety. Out in the workshop, our master carpenter gives the machines a test by fashioning a flat-panel cabinet door for Dick and Sandy to consider for their new kitchen. [26 minutes]

As our master carpenter sets up the table saw to make a sample raised-panel door for the Silvas to consider for their new kitchen, our host sees Tom's system for flashing windows: a layer of waterproof membrane covered with a custom cap of site-bent lead-coated copper. The cementitious clapboards "factory primed and first-coated"go on to great acclaim, and our host meets with landscape designer Stephanie Hubbard to lay out the challenges facing the project: entries to the property, views from inside, transitions among vastly different elevations. In the basement, master electrician Allen Gallant is working on one of two main panels. Turning down his rechargeable jobsite boombox, he shows off a new breaker called an arc-fault [26 minutes]

The site is abuzz as subcontractors hurry to complete their in-wall work before the insulation truck arrives. Tom Silva gives a tour of the wires, pipes, conduits and ducts, while Paul Somerson, editor-in-chief of PC Computing magazine, makes recommendations about the proper wiring, placement and configuration of the house's computer system. Kitchen designer Phil Mossgraber and homeowner Sandra Silva are down to the final decisions in the kitchen natural fir cabinets, linoleum floor, counters of a material called kirkstone and they debate the merits of two different island designs. The sprinkler system is roughed in, and sprinkler specialist Jack Viola shows our host where the water comes in and (hopefully never) comes out. Media systems designer Mitch Klein shows us his plans for fitting the living room with a surround-sound television package; it includes the rather unorthodox placement of a plasma-screen TV in the wall over the mantel. Finally, landscape designer Stephanie Hubbard unveils her plan for the property, which includes moving the Silvas' beloved frog pond. [26 minutes]

We arrive at the house to find the last of the wallboard shipment being loaded into the basement. In the rest of the house, it's already hung and plastering has begun; homeowner Dick Silva gives a tour of the top floor, where the rooms are taking on their final shape. The building has been insulated with an open-cell polyicynene foam earlier Steve met with its Canadian inventor. Tom and Norm are in the workshop building the last of the kitchen and bath cabinet carcasses, while landscape contractor Roger Cook works with stonemason Roger Hopkins to shape granite steps for a new walkway up from the driveway. Tom shows Steve the cementitious shingle panels being used on the garage walls, and metal fabricator Tom McGregor works on a lead-coated-copper flat-seam roof over the kitchen bay window. Finally, Tom and Norm build a fir face-frame for the bathroom vanity using pocket-screw technology. [26 minutes]

Landscape contractor Roger Cook and his crew begin to install a stone wall along the driveway, using a split stone from North Carolina that is available at home centers nationwide. Roger shows us his method of building with geotextile and proper drainage to ensure the wall won't succumb to frost heaves over time. Inside, Tom Silva is putting in the first of the new interior doors made from medium-density fiberboard (MDF) in the traditional panel-stile-rail way, they keep the crisp details of a wood door, yet do not expand and contract like wood. For custom panel patterns like ours, they are less than half the price of wood and are delivered in a mere two weeks. Painters Ron and Greg Byers are applying latex paint to the house's exterior using an airless sprayer, and our host takes viewers to the factory that made the expanded urethane millwork we're using inside and out. Homeowner Dick Silva shows us some of the schemes he's considering to hide the flat-screen TV over the mantle when it's not in use. In the workshop, our master carpenter works to build heavy-duty cabinet drawers with slide hardware to match. [26 minutes]

We arrive to find Rich in the basement, where the forced air unit for first-floor heating and cooling hangs; the main source of first-floor heat, however, will be radiant floor heat, made more effective with aluminum mounting plates and a joist-bay foil insulation that reflects heat back up into the floor above. Out front, Roger Cook shows us the options he had in edging the landscape's walkways he's chosen steel, which is long-lasting, flexible, and nearly invisible. Out in the workshop, Tom Silva is spraying fast-drying lacquer on the new cabinet doors, while our master carpenter is in the New Yankee Workshop turning legs for the kitchen island. This Old House magazine editor-in-chief Donna Sapolin tours around the house to explain the interior design challenges, and then visits a nearby furniture showroom to see some of the design work that has been done for the Silvas' new house. [26 minutes]

Master electrician Allen Gallant shows us the workings of the new emergency power generator, a quiet natural-gas-powered unit that will supply the house's "essential services" (heating plant, refrigerator, well, some lights) with electricity in the event of a blackout. Beautiful wooden garage doors go in, and we get a tour of their construction, installation and operation. In the kitchen, Dick Silva begins installing the new cabinets, while our master carpenter visits a converted woolen mill, where a local cabinet maker is building the Silvas an entertainment center out of rare and beautiful tiger oak. Back on site, inventor John Crowley shows us his line of "kit of parts" wainscoting. [26 minutes]

Paving contractor Don Sloan shows Roger Cook a few different ways to pave the drive, Roger shows the drywell and crushed stone he and his crew installed to handle any excess water on the north side of the building, Tom Silva gives Steve a ride on the kitchen island's new pull-out pastry board and Richard Trethewey gives the new a/c chiller a test. Then it's off to Kirkcaldy, Scotland, to see real linoleum being made the same way it's been made for the past 100 years, with the same natural ingredients. [26 minutes]

Landscape designer Stephanie Hubbard oversees the placement of the new plants and trees with Roger Cook, Norm talks to mill owner Charlie Wilson about the vertical grain loblolly pine and quartersawn white oak flooring, Steve visits a nearby shop to learn the ins and outs of oriental carpets from expert Steve Boodakian and Tom Silva hangs the new front door. Also, viewers get a tour of This Old House magazine's just-completed Dream House, a Robert A. M. Stern-designed Shingle-style home in Connecticut. [26 minutes]

Roger Cook and his crew roll out a bit of sod in the back yard; Roger recounts how he covered up the septic tank, moved the frog pond and replaced the old pavers around the pool with some beautiful granite coping; oriental carpet expert Steve Boodakian extolls the virtures of a central vacuuming system; and PC Computing magazine editor Paul Somerson reviews the house's computer set-up. This Old House magazine's Donna Sapolin tours each decorated room. [26 minutes]

Our host and master carpenter arrive in style, by sailboat, at This Old House's winter project location: Santa Barbara. Homeowner Jan Winford has waited 25 years to expand her tiny 1907 California bungalow on a beautiful lot overlooking the city's historic downtown and the Pacific Ocean beyond. With a solid team of architect Jerry Zimmer and general contractor Steve Crawford, she plans to add a second floor master suite, expand the kitchen, and reshape the entire front facade, with an emphasis on the Craftsman style, all on a budget of $200,000. [26 minutes]

The guys revisit This Old House's winter 1988 Santa Barbara project: Dave and Susan Dickenson's bungalow. Upon arrival at This Old House's current jobsite, they find the building reduced to a few walls and a forest of studs. As we learn from general contractor Steve Crawford, the building had to be deconstructed and reinforced before it could support the new addition. Richard Trethewey checks out the plastic water piping, along with a new "reversible" brass fitting system. Then we tour town with historian Neal Graffy, who reveals how a devastating earthquake in 1925 gave birth to the Mediterranean Revival city that stands today. [26 minutes]

We review the progress the crew has made in reframing the expansion of the Santa Barbara bungalow. Then we check out the new garage, built to comply with city code, and the new, synthetic sandstone front walkway. We then go aboard one of the oil rigs that dot Santa Barbara's spectacular coastline to learn how the oil industry has shaped the area's economy and environment. [26 minutes]

We check out the framing of the Santa Barbara bungalow's new second-story master suite-and take in its stunning views of the Pacific. Then we head off to a small art-tile kiln in nearby Ojai where Jan's Arts-and-Crafts-style backsplash, counter and fireplace tiles are being made. General contractor Steve Crawford discusses the aesthetic challenges he faces in giving the exterior an authentic historic look. City fire codes that protect against the threat of wildfire mean that he will have to use modern, non-flammable building materials such as Class A fire-rated asphalt roofing and fiber-cement sidewall shingles. [26 minutes]

We check out the new custom windows, which feature cherry, wood interiors and true divided lights. Then we meet landscape architect Susan van Atta who reviews her design for the historically sensitive landscape that includes plants native to California. Then our host meets with Paul Duchscherer, design expert and author of three books on Arts-and-Crafts style, who was enlisted to ensure that the new interior and exterior colors, finishes and decorative details stay true to the home's period character. Duchscherer then takes us to the neighboring town of Ojai for a tour of a spectacular Greene and Greene home, which epitomizes American Arts-and-Crafts style. [26 minutes]

The countdown to the completion of the Santa Barbara bungalow renovation begins. The elements of the new kitchen arrive, as does the magnificent oak front entrance. The focal point of the house"the fireplace-is given a wonderful facelift with handcrafted Arts-and-Crafts style tiles. And finally, we make a trek up the West Coast to a Portland, Oregon, factory that produces exact replicas of vintage lighting fixtures. [26 minutes]

Homeowner Jan Winford finally realizes her dream of 25 years-the renovation of her 1907 bungalow"thanks in part to This Old House. The guys return to Santa Barbara after a couple of weeks of construction have gone by and are amazed to find Jan's bungalow transformed with classic Arts-and-Crafts style detailing. Our master carpenter congratulates general contractor Steve Crawford on squeezing an immensely ambitious project into such a limited time-frame before they both join the crew at the traditional wrap party. [26 minutes]

Steve Thomas and Norm Abram welcome viewers to the 22nd season of THIS OLD HOUSE from the main deck of the beautifully restored USS Constitution, which is docked in Boston Harbor's historic Charlestown Navy Yard. After disembarking, they trek up to Bunker Hill, site of the famous Revolutionary War battle to learn more about it and the construction story behind its commemorative monument. Along the way, they pass some classic examples 17th and 18th century urban architecture, which have been recently restored. Soon thereafter, Steve is given a walking tour of Charlestown by local realtor Frank Celeste, who tells a remarkable story about its rise, fall, and recent rebirth as one of Boston's most sought-after communities. Celeste then gives him a lead on a young couple who recently purchased a three-story 1865 Second-Empire style brick townhouse on famed Bunker Hill Street, and who are in need of some renovation help. Steve agrees to meet with Dan and Heather Beliveau to learn more about their dreams for their new home and how they plan to beat the high-cost of city living by turning the first floor and basement into a rental unit. In the meantime, Norm tries to locate Tom at a nearby boatyard so they can survey the current state of structure and the scope of the work that needs to be done. By show's end, the THIS OLD HOUSE team and the Beliveaus agree to join forces. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas opens the show from City Square Park, a Charlestown, Massachusetts, landmark that once was overshadowed (literally) by elevated train tracks and highways. A citizen-led group succeeded in having them removed and replaced with a beautiful public park. Steve interviews Rich Johnson who played a key role in this urban revitalization project. Then he heads to the subject house to meet with homeowner Dan Beliveau and architect Jack French to discuss their goals and ideas for the renovation. Afterwards, Jack takes Steve to visit one of his firm's projects, a decommissioned Catholic school that was converted into condominiums. Norm visits with the homeowner of a beautifully restored, neighboring townhouse to learn more about her approach. [26 minutes]

The Charlestown townhouse can be found on the route of one of the country's oldest parades, the Bunker Hill Day Parade. Host Steve Thomas gets the scoop on the parade's 225-year-old history and its annual events from the locals. Afterwards, he checks in on the flurry of activity at the job site including Tom's removal of the old brick patio and the asbestos-abatement crew's work in the kitchen and basement. Later, Steve meets with homeowner Dan Beliveau and project architect Jack French to review the two options for expanding the structure and the building permit and zoning approvals needed. Norm reviews choices for improving the old windows, while Tom and Richard discuss the challenges of updating the home's cooling and heating systems. Finally, homeowner Dan Beliveau rolls up his sleeves and works alongside the crew to demolish the old kitchen. [26 minutes]

Steve Thomas can be found opening the show from Boston Harbor again, this time aboard the STS Sagres, the stunning Portuguese entry in the Tall Ships Parade. Meanwhile, Norm can be found on the job checking out the towering scaffolding around the Charlestown townhouse. When Steve arrives at the job site, Dan takes him on a tour of the gutted kitchen and baths that reveal the full interior space available for construction. What exactly Dan and Heather will be able to build in this space remains undecided, as Steve finds out when he visits Boston's Inspectional [Building] Services Department with architect Jack French. While some parts of the proposed building plan are approved, others are flagged for a zoning review. In the basement, Norm finds Tom shooting lines to create a level new floor before prepping the area for the pouring of concrete. Heating and plumbing expert Richard Trethewey is able to shed light on the pipes, explaining how PVC pipes can line pre-existing clay pipes, eliminating the need to cut through and disrupt the sidewalk. [26 minutes]

Hard rain doesn't appear to hold back progress on the Charlestown renovation. Norm and Dan climb the new scaffolding to take in the gray view of the city and to discuss the issues of putting a roof deck on the building's hip roof. Meanwhile, host Steve Thomas learns about filling in a flue channel, which is a structural element of the house before finding out the prognosis of the plaster from preservationist Rory Brennan. Richard takes Heather to a nearby plumbing salvage yard to see if owner Fan Faye might be interested in swapping a classic clawfoot tub and pedestal sink for the fancy radiators her house no longer needs. The work on the basement hits a milestone as the new floor is poured, and Norm, Tom and Dan waste no time, once the floor is set, by laying out and framing in the new rooms in the basement. [26 minutes]

Steve, Norm, and Tom commute to the Charlestown job site in style --aboard Tom's boat. They arrive on site to find landscape contractor Roger Cook and his crew removing the massive granite curbing along the back patio and the old concrete steps at the rear entrance. In the process they unearth an old gravestone. Chimney specialist Mark Schaub gives Norm a report on state of the home's four fireplaces and the staggering costs involved in getting them all to work. Steve helps Tom put in new floor joists, before taking viewers to visit one of the Charlestown's oldest residents, the Navy Yard. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas recaps with homeowner Dan Beliveau the recent Boston Zoning Board of Appeals decision that gives the go-ahead for the project's master bath addition and roof deck. With approval in hand, the work commences in earnest. This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Steve how the new HVAC duct system will be zoned to provide maximum comfort. Historic conservator Andrea Gilmore visits the project house and assesses the condition of its brownstone lintels. [26 minutes]

The work continues in Charlestown as steps are taken to make the fireplaces and chimneys safe for wood burning fires. Master carpenter Norm Abram and general contractor Tom Silva install some of the handsome new windows. Throughout the townhouse the wiring and rough plumbing continues. Host Steve Thomas and homeowner Dan Beliveau visit a kitchen design showroom to check out the options for outfitting the townhouse's two kitchens - the rental unit's and owners'. [26 minutes]

The Beliveaus' townhouse affords a few views of Boston Harbor, which is a working port. Ships of all shapes and sizes steam past Charlestown everyday, and regularly dock in the channel. Heating and plumbing expert Richard Trethewey goes aboard one of the harbor's frequent visitors, a liquid-natural-gas tanker, to learn more about how the vessel operates. Meanwhile, at the townhouse, work continues on the Beliveaus' prime viewing spot, their roof deck. Seeking some inspiration for its design, Steve visits a spectacular roof deck nearby. [26 minutes]

The basement of This Old House's Charlestown project continues to be transformed into two bedrooms for the rental unit. To ensure the space remains warm and damp-free, close-cell foam is sprayed against the exterior walls. Upstairs, in the Beliveaus' living room, host Steve Thomas meets with plaster restorer Rory Brennan to learn about the process of saving the old horsehair plaster and vintage ornamental details. [26 minutes]

The transformation of the Charlestown project house is coming along according to plan, including the metal spiral staircase that will be installed on the exterior of the rear ell and run from the Beliveaus' new kitchen to street level. The stairs are fabricated locally, and master carpenter Norm Abram visits the nearby shop to learn about the art and engineering behind this structure. Meanwhile, landscaping contractor Roger Cook and landscape architect David Hawk begin the process of creating two private outdoor spaces, one for the renters and one for the Beliveaus. [26 minutes]

The Charlestown project house will retain many of its original 1865 details, but many of the crumbling brownstone lintels will not be among them. While mason Lenny Belliveau installs new cast stone lintels, host Steve Thomas visits the Rhode Island yard where they are made to learn about the materials and casting techniques. Roofing contractor Mark Mulloy explains the intricacies of reroofing the mansard as he and his crew finish their work on the house. [26 minutes]

The Charlestown project house continues to be transformed into two distinct living spaces, the rental apartment and the Beliveaus' home. As the plastering nears completion, host Steve Thomas learns some tips for ensuring a smooth plaster finish. Meanwhile, out at The New Yankee Workshop, master carpenter Norm Abram can be found working on a built-in china cabinet for the Beliveaus' dining room, which will be similar to the original found in the rental unit. [26 minutes]

Having suffered the indignity of an architecturally inappropriate vinyl storm door, the entryway at the Charlestown project house receives the full attention of specialty painter John Dee as he begins the restoration process of the old wooden double doors. Host Steve Thomas puts home renovation into perspective for viewers when he visits Boston's Central Artery Tunnel project, also known as the Big Dig. As Steve tours what is currently being called the largest public works project in the country, he learns about the challenges involved in depressing a major highway beneath a vibrant historic city. [26 minutes]

Master carpenter Norm Abram tours a manufacturing plant that fabricates MDF, medium density fiberboard, to learn more about how the material is made and which characteristics and properties make it such an easy material to use. Then he travels to a door company which is making the custom MDF doors for the vestibule of the Charlestown project. [26 minutes]

The single-lever kitchen faucet is one of the most familiar pieces of American plumbing. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey tours the state-of-the-art factory where this tried and true fixture is made. Back at the Charlestown townhouse, progress continues on the landscaping, as Roger Cook accepts delivery of the new plants. Inside the house, it's a big day for the kitchens as both sets of cabinets, one for the rental unit, and one for the Beliveaus' home, arrive on the job site [26 minutes]

The Charlestown project enters the homestretch, and there is evidence throughout the house that the end is in sight. The flooring for the basement hallway, made of bamboo, is installed. On the first and second floors the marble kitchen countertops go in, bringing the kitchens one step closer to completion. And finally, host Steve Thomas tours a small foundry in San Francisco where historically accurate brass doorknobs for the front entryway were crafted. [26 minutes]

The Charlestown project concludes. The team works its way through the checklist of finishes. Period lighting fixtures, wallpaper, carpeting, and two new suites of modern appliances turn the Beliveaus' townhouse into an up-to-the-minute historic showpiece. [26 minutes]

The next project begins in West Palm Beach -- an area featuring the allure of coastal breezes, warm Florida sand, political intrigue and 16 historical districts. A community with a revitalized downtown and considerable residential renovation, West Palm Beach, Florida, serves as the backdrop to the project house -- a small Mediterranean Revival bungalow. Built in the 1920s, new homeowner Rob Thompson envisions turning it, and the two-story garage/apartment behind it, into a compound for living and working. [26 minutes]

Work begins in earnest on Rob Thompson's 1925 Mediterranean Revival home in West Palm Beach, Florida. General contractors Harley Edgell and John Kern begin to assess how much termite and water damage is lurking behind the stucco, while architect Roger Janssen explains his vision, via a model, of the proposed redesign. Host Steve Thomas tours Flamingo Park, the historic neighborhood where Rob's house is located. [26 minutes]

As hurricanes are a serious threat to houses in Southern Florida, precautions are taken to help the buildings survive the storms. Hurricane resistant replacement windows arrive at the West Palm Beach project house, the shatterproof glass does away with need for clumsy storm shutters. Host Steve Thomas and master carpenter Norm Abram visit one of this centuries' most ambitious and complex construction project-NASA's International Space Station-at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Steve receives an exclusive tour of the Space Station's components while Norm learns about the specific job performed by various space tools. Finally they visit the Space Shuttle Atlantis, which will haul this equipment 240 miles into space. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas checks in with homeowner Rob Thompson as renovation work continues on the West Palm Beach project house. While the new lap pool is installed behind the house, progress continues with the kitchen expansion. Master carpenter Norm Abram finds the transformation of the former garage into a home office for Rob's interior design business well underway. [26 minutes]

The transformation process continues at the West Palm Beach project house, and now it's decision time. General contractors Harley Edgell and John Kern press homeowner Rob Thompson about his decisions for cabinets, appliances, tile, countertops, and bath fixtures so that the materials can be ordered and arrive without breaking the workflow, which could cause delays. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas learns more about West Palm Beach's story from former mayor Nancy Graham as they tour City Place, a new shopping and residential block. The new development has been credited with inspiring West Palm Beach's renaissance. Back at the project, Steve Thomas watches the new cabinetry being installed as the kitchen renovation nears completion. Our master carpenter checks in with general contractors Harley Edgell and John Kern who are busy converting the garage into a workshop. Finally, the landscaping begins in earnest with the installation of the new patio featuring a new type of paver. [26 minutes]

With just a few weeks left to go until the project house in West Palm Beach is completed, our team surveys the progress. Steve oversees the installation of granite countertops in the new kitchen, while our master carpenter checks on the pergola that will separate the driveway from the pool. Later, Steve meets with landscape architect Jeff Blakely to discuss the new state-of-the-art, subsurface drip irrigation system and checks out the landscape's new plantings. [26 minutes]

It's the finale of This Old House's West Palm Beach project. Our team checks on the remaining details including the finished landscape, the new, professional grade kitchen appliances, and the interior design work being done by none other than our homeowner, Rob Thompson. [26 minutes]

It is a crisp spring morning in New England, the perfect time for a cruise along the shoreline of Manchester, Ma. Host Steve Thomas and Master Carpenter Norm Abram are trying to navigate their way through the picturesque harbor as they commute to their latest rescue mission: The renovation of a Shingle style home built in 1883. Steve and Norm dock at the base of the property and are immediately enchanted by the location but stare in disbelief at the house. Rather than the rambling seaside home they envisioned, before them stands a boxlike building shorn of all decoration. From the history that homeowner Janet McCue gives them, Steve and Norm learn that the house has lost almost all of its original detailing over the years. Steve realizes the extent of disrepair when he meets with Architect Steven Holt, who shows him a picture of how the house looked 100 years ago. For inspiration, they visit a classic Shingle-style home built in 1881 that has been lovingly maintained ever since. Steve returns inspired, but Norm still needs convincing and calls in Richard Trethewey and Tom Silva to begin a mechanical exam of the house. Verdict is in! Though bereft of its original detail, it is a solid structure to build on. Homeowner's David and Janet McCue, along with America's favorite home team will work ambitiously over the course of 26 weeks to give this old house back its heart and soul. [26 minutes]

Old photographs show the glory of this old house's latest project house, with its dormers and wings, porches and railings with columned entries and acres of formal gardens. After years of disregard the surroundings begin to threaten the house. Landscaping Contractor Roger Cook is called in to the relocate the 25 foot evergreen and 20 foot dogwood that need to be moved before construction begins. Host Steve Thomas and Homeowner David McCue meet with Architect Stephen Holt to go over the model of the proposed renovation. One of the major floorplan problems is the disconnection of the kitchen from the rest of the house. Stephen plans to rearrange the interior structure of the house by putting the kitchen front and center. Although this would not have been found in the original Shingle style home, Stephen proves it can be done when he takes Steve and David to a nearby house of similar vintage where he accomplished the same thing. Responding to the homeowners' desire to save the few original fragments of the building, Master Carpenter Norm Abram and General Contractor Tom Silva work to gently dismantle and save a marble and copper butler's sink. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas visits the seaside rotunda and "chowder house" just across the harbor from our subject house with Manchester historical society president John Huss. At the project, work has begun in earnest, with nearly four dumpsters' worth of gutting. Host Steve Thomas, Master Carpenter Norm Abram and General Contractor Tom Silva tour the property to review what has been revealed of the original building and to discuss the plans for the job. Meanwhile Architect Stephen Holt and Homeowner David McCue discuss options to improve the space and light in the proposed kitchen and living room-some are radical, others rely more on minor but clever changes. The start of an oil leak in one of the basement's old steel tanks forces Richard Trethewey's hand; he brings in two new polyethylene-lined tanks from Europe, guaranteed never to rot. Host Steve Thomas talks with the Manchester Conservation Commissioner Betsy Rickards and learns the reason behind the haybales that surround the house. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas learns more about the origin of Shingle style homes when he tours one of the great surviving Shingle style buildings, H.H. Richardson's Stonehurst in Waltham, Massachusetts. Back at the project site the home team reviews the costs associated with the new addition's foundation, and Steve asks the obvious: "Wouldn't it be faster, cheaper and better to simply tear down this tired old structure and put up a new one?" Master Carpenter Norm Abram and General Contractor Tom Silva have already figured this would cost $1 million more than the planned renovation of the existing structure. Tom also points out the value of saving what is left of a once-grand old building. [26 minutes]

Transformation continues on the Manchester house. The new foundation is backfilled and General contractor Tom Silva's team is busy putting up the forms for the new terrace. Homeowners David and Janet McCue meet with kitchen cabinet designer and builder Ted Goodnow to begin laying out the new kitchen, pantry and office. David and Host Steve Thomas go with Ted to view a kitchen done by Ted's firm to get some more ideas about design features and materials. Back at the house, Tom Silva and Norm Abram discover original fragments of the old house, which include the roof, a dormer and a gabled sidewall. Norm considers the original fabric of the building as the team begins to make roofing choices. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas and Master Carpenter Norm Abram take a look around the new job-site office trailer that comes complete with secure storage good for keeping track of paperwork away from the chaos inside the house and for safeguarding delivered materials. Steve catches up with General Contractor Tom Silva and is shown the latest progress on the job, including the restored dormers, straightened floors and an ingenious method of raising the kitchen/family room ceiling. Norm meets up with window specialist Jay Harman and is shown three different windows to consider for the renovation. Finally, kitchen cabinet designer and manufacturer Ted Goodnow and homeowner Janet McCue show Steve a full-size mock-up of the kitchen they're considering. [26 minutes]

The transformation of the Manchester house begins to unfold. Outside, host Steve Thomas tries his hand at driving the job site forklift. He is a little shaky, but successful in delivering a load of plywood to the third floor. Inside, Steve and general contractor Tom Silva discuss their concerns about the planned kitchen, office and game room. Tom and Steve consider the possibility of moving the game room' s location to the now spectacular dormered third floor. Meanwhile, in preparation for the re-siding of the old house, master carpenter Norm Abram talks with specialist Rick Farrar about the finer points of red cedar shingles and bleaching oils. Later in the program, host Steve Thomas tours the harbor with architect Steve Holt to see what has happened to some of the town's great old houses everything from total restoration to total removal. One of the notorious removals was that of Kragsyde in 1929, considered by some to be the greatest example of the Shingle-style home. An exact replica has been built by a couple in Swan's Island, Maine. Steve visits them to see their remarkable achievement. [26 minutes]

Master carpenter Norm Abram takes steps to begin the roofing process. He speaks with roofing contractor Mark Mulloy about the roofing system, components including: decking, a bituminous membrane to cover every surface from eave to ridge, a three-dimensional nylon mesh to allow air to flow beneath the shingles, and pressure-treated southern yellow pine shingles with a 50-year transferable warranty. In this episode Norm also travels to Bend, Oregon to visit a factory where the Manchester house's windows are being made. Meanwhile general contractor Tom Silva shows host Steve Thomas how to cut studs quickly when building a partition wall beneath a bowed ceiling. Finally, specialist Mark Schaub assesses the state of the chimneys. Surprisingly the relatively new one, built in the 1970s, is not up to snuff. [26 minutes]

This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey checks out a new software program that computes heat loss for the Manchester house. Richard also reports on heating and cooling costs with various insulation, window and power plant configurations. Host Steve Thomas sees the progress on the new addition, including a roof joist system of 1 x 12 LVLs, necessitated by the room's high ceiling height. Inside, general contractor Tom Silva and master carpenter Norm Abram show Steve how they are stiffening up a bouncy third floor by sistering 1/8" steel sheets to the floor joists from below. Other progress at the renovation includes the installation of the first of the new sliding glass doors. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas begins the show in a municipal parking lot in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where once stood a beautiful 250-year-old Georgian home. The house has been torn down and preserved at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Steve visits the museum where the house as well as the lives of the many families that lived there have been reconstructed. Back at the renovation site, everyone is in high gear. Mason Lenny Belliveau builds the new addition's exterior face from water-struck brick, while inside master carpenter Norm Abram checks out chimney specialist Dan McLaughlin's use of an insulating chimney system made from pumice. It goes up quickly and keeps the chimney stack warmer, preventing the buildup of the column of cold air that normally dumps out and spreads smoke into the room. General contractor Tom Silva shows Steve his method of putting in a wooden floor over concrete that was previously outdoor patio space. Architect Steve Holt shows Norm his design for the new fireplace inglenook, based in part on old photos taken before the original addition was torn down. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas begins the show from the craggy shoreline of the project site to see the rapidly improving look of the exterior of the house, which has now regained its missing wing and third floor dormers. General contractor Tom Silva and master carpenter Norm Abram take a progress tour of the house highlighting how the dormers add new dimensions to the third floor exercise room. Tom shows Norm the beginnings of a second floor deck, while Norm checks out the installation of the custom made window in the stairwell. Landscape contractor Roger Cook, landscape architect David Hawk, and homeowner Janet McCue discuss plans for the new landscape, with special consideration given to the idea of changing the size and location of the current driveway. The kitchen design has been finalized, and designer Kevin Finnegan takes Steve through a full-size mock-up of the kitchen that allows the owners to have a sense of traffic flow and space. [26 minutes]

There's been major progress on the job, as Host Steve Thomas sees the new bays and porch deck on the sea side of the house and general contractor Tom Silva and master carpenter Norm Abram begin shingling with red cedar shingles pre-dipped in bleaching oil. Steve and landscape contractor Roger Cook meet with Manchester conservation officer Betsy Rickards to learn what the regulations say about thinning a dense thicket of trees down by the water. As transformation continues on the exterior, it is time to consider interior design. Steve takes viewers on a visit to a home that is all about interiors: Beauport, a 40-room fantasy house in Gloucester, Massachusetts, that was the passion of interior designer Henry Davis Sleeper. Sleeper worked on the house from 1907 to his death in 1934, fitting each room out in a different theme. Back at the project site, Norm checks in with roofer Mark Mulloy, who is fashioning a lead-coated copper roof for the bell-shaped bump-out in the music room. ~ Finally, Steve gets a glimpse of plumbing's future as plumbing and heating contractor Brian Bilo shows him the simple and quick installation of plastic water piping. [26 minutes]

In preparation for the new location and design of the driveway, landscape contractor Roger Cook and his crew begin to tear up the old asphalt driveway. Painter John Dee shows host Steve Thomas his approach to restoring the turn-of-the-century portico. John strips some of the existing features and replaces some decorative elements that are not salvageable. As homeowner David McCue considers installing an outdoor hot tub, Steve takes David back to his own house where he has put in his own outdoor spa. Back at the site, general contractor Tom Silva and master carpenter Norm Abram use_and approve of_a polyurethane exterior trim. Meanwhile Steve joins acoustical consultant John Storyk as he works with David to tackle some of the sound issues in the new music room. Norm and Tom discuss the state of the original diamond-paned bump-out, its usefulness as a place for plants, and the possibility of replacing it with a proper greenhouse. To research the concept, architect Steve Holt shows Steve around a nearby guest house he designed, complete with a very high-end conservatory. [26 minutes]

Cold weather is on its way, and its time to turn the heat on in this old house! To prepare for nippier working conditions, half of the crew will work outside to get the building weather proof, while the other half moves inside to work on the interior. Host Steve Thomas catches up with plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey who brings in temporary heating equipment, until the permanent heating is installed. Steve and landscape architect Roger discuss plans for the trees on the harbor side. Steve and homeowner Janet McCue visit a local garden and stone shop looking for brick to use for the patio. After discussing various options, Janet decides on a stone with a natural look, found right outside of the Berkshires. Back at the house Norm and general contractor Tom Silva remove the heart pine flooring from the boy's bedroom to reuse in the master bath to save money and the time it would take to locate new flooring. Steve talks with architect Stephen Holt to discuss plans for the second floor decks and the code and construction considerations. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas and master carpenter Norm Abram arrive to the project site via boat for the last time before the first snow hits New England. Norm and Steve check out the progress made on the deck on the harbor side of the house. Norm finds John Dee instructing Janet on how to hand-strip the bump-out sash using a "natural" stripper, it has taken six hours to do just one! Looking for suggestions to speed up the process, Norm and Janet turn to painter John Dee for advice and alternative options. Steve talks with Shawn Rippen of Icynene, who shows him a wall cross section and explains how the foam system they have developed combats conditions that lead to mold growth within the walls. Later, Steve finally gets a chance to try his hand at plastering a second floor room, learning the key of plastering is to get it on as quick as you can. Steve will visit with the Boston Design center's tile showroom manager Catherine Mitchell who has been helping homeowner Janet McCue make final tile selections by looking at the mock vignettes they have set up. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas goes over lighting choices with the lighting designer Susan Arnold. In the basement, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey explains the plumbing setup to homeowner David McCue. Later in the show, Steve takes a look at the three patios that landscape contractor Roger Cook and his crew created. Together, they visit a nearby nursery where Roger and landscape architect David Hawk lay out a full scale mock up of David's proposed planting plan for the turning island in the new driveway. Back at the site, general contractor Tom Silva and master carpenter Norm Abram put up a new porch column. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas begins the show by checking out the opened vistas of the house and yard through the newly bare trees along the road. Inside, the study and dining room are shaping up, with blue-board on the walls and the old fireplace rehabilitated. In the music room, the dramatic coved ceiling is getting the first part of its acoustical plaster system. Steve checks on painter John Dee's slow but steady process on the portico restoration. Today he's installing new plaster brackets to replace the originals, which were too deteriorated to salvage. Later in the show, Steve takes viewers to the Chicago factory where the brackets were made. They have been made the same way for 100 years! Finally, landscape contractor Roger Cook shows off the new back patio made up of massive pieces of Goshen stone. [26 minutes]

The new spa arrives on the back of a truck and soon it's open for business. General contractor Tom Silva begins installing the beautiful new wood portico columns, using an ingenious jig to fashion two of them into engaged columns up against the house. Master carpenter Norm Abram visits Alcott House in Concord, Massachusetts. Home of Little Women author Lousia May Alcott and her transcendentalist father Bronson, it is a mecca for thousands of visitors, and preserving it intact is a high-priority but tricky job. Back at the house, Norm helps finish carpenter Dick Silva trim out one of the windows in period detail. [26 minutes]

Landscape contractor Roger Cook and crew enclose the new spa in veneer stone. Inside, homeowner Janet McCue has roped two friends into helping her complete the stripping and re-glazing of the half-round bump-out windows. The music room receives its final, finish coat of acoustical plaster, and master carpenter Norm Abram checks out a new four-oscillating head sander that flooring contractor Pat Hunt is using. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey visits Kohler, Wisconsin, to see how one company has used computer-aided engineering to design a toilet "engine" that meets the challenge of using only 1.6 gallons per flush. Back at the house, general contractor Tom Silva shows Host Steve Thomas a flexible molding that bends around the radius of the kitchen bay and matches perfectly with the wooden moldings on the straight runs. [26 minutes]

Fireplace specialist Mark Schaub shows host Steve Thomas the new sealed gas fireplace unit in the guestroom. Landscape architect David Hawk walks host Steve Thomas along the rapidly developing new driveway, which gives an entirely different arrival experience than the old 16-foot-wide straight approach. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows off a new energy-recovery ventilator. Homeowner David McCue visits master carpenter Norm Abram in the New Yankee Workshop to help in the making of the inglenook. Back at the house, general contractor Tom Silva puts up beadboard, showing Steve a trick involving a baseboard rabbet. [26 minutes]

Landscape contractor Roger Cook mulches the planting areas around the finished outdoor spa. In the dining room, general contractor Tom Silva puts up the final pieces of an elaborate, 11-piece ceiling molding that replicates the house's original detail. Master carpenter Norm Abram meets cabinetmaker Tom Perkins, who is using a software program to specify the exact components of the many built-ins. Host Steve Thomas gets a lesson in paint preparation from painting contractor Jim Clark, who reveals the many steps necessary to obtain a smooth finish. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Steve the latest generation in radio-floor heat technology. Finally tiling contractor Joe Ferrante shows off his tiling work in the master bath, where the steam shower is done up in limestone and marble. [26 minutes]

In the music room, master carpenter Norm Abram begins to install the first pieces of the inglenook, a recessed alcove with built-in seating framing the ingle, or "house fire". Host Steve Thomas gets a look at the wiring, fuse panels, and emergency backup power unit for the house with electrician Pete Woodbury. Outside, landscape contractor Roger Cook and arborist Matt Foti decide the fates of an unhealthy ash tree and a split-fork oak that is overhanging the east end of the house. General contractor Tom Silva shows Steve the system he's using to make mahogany paneling in the music room; one of its key components is a fastening technology that uses plastic "bow ties" to hold wood to wood. [26 minutes]

Mud season has arrived early in Manchester, and host Steve Thomas pulls our producer out of the mud to start the show! Master carpenter Norm Abram checks out the newly arrived kitchen cabinets, where the light mahogany color will contrast with the painted " furniture-look" of the islands. Painting contractor Jim Clark gives Steve a lesson in painting complex trim. Norm and general contractor Tom Silva check out the new quartersawn oak flooring. Finally, homeowners David McCue and Tom install a bumper system, which David's company manufacturers. This will ensure that the garage walls will no longer take bites out of the McCues' car doors. [26 minutes]

In this episode, the complete renovation can really start to be seen. The kitchen is almost complete with the addition of the granite countertops and drawer and door pulls. Richard Trethewey salvages a pedestal sink from the master bathroom which is to be fitted with new fixtures and installed on the third floor. An ornate wood compass inlay is installed in the wood floor of an entryway. The glass roof for the conservatory is finally installed. Norm shows Steve how to turn a leg for the seat that is part of the inglenook in music room. The inglenook is nearing completion with the addition of a chairrail that goes over the fireplace and windows in the seating section. Finally, Tom Silva completes some curved molding with plaster. [26 minutes]

A last arrival by boat reveals to Steve and our master carpenter how far we've come from the plain shingled box we found on Day 1 of this project, and Steve declares he'll be satisfied if, as other boaters float into Manchester harbor over the years, they'll look at the McCues' home and say what a nice old building it is (even though most of what they'll see is new). Inside, painter Jim Clark shows our master carpenter how he's using tung oil to give the music room's mahogany paneling its final, rich look. David McCue gives his new kitchen a test drive with the help of demonstration cook and appliance expert Jane Scammon; together they make Steve lunch and show off the kitchen's many cutting-edge appliances. Our master carpenter helps Tom install an interior mortise set, in tarnish proof brass, into one of the house's many new MDF doors, while Steve checks out part of the new audio system with designer/installer Bob Domus. Rich Trethewey gives Steve a tour of the new master bath, carpet expert Jerry Acari shows how the front stair runner is going in, and acoustician John Storyk and David McCue hear how John's design for the music room's acoustics panned out. [26 minutes]

Steve, Norm and Tom take a look back at the past nine months on the last episode of the McCue's project and the dramatic transformations that have taken place. Richard discusses the glass and frameless shower installation that take place in the master bathroom. Tom and Norm talk about the mixed reviews the glass roof in the conservatory has gotten. Both are happy to see a marble countertop and copper sink have been salvaged and installed in the mudroom off the vestibule. The big screen tv is being fine tuned in the game room. There is some additional detailing to do in the home office -- staining of countertops and tweaking of cabinets. In the master suite, a fully adjustable closet system custom built to the McCue's needs is being installed. Janet and the interior designer walk through with Steve before the festivities in the music room to highlight all the finishing touches. The southwest corner of the home was the most dramatic part of the restoration -- the addition of the music room which was part of the structure torn down 25 years ago. Tom Silva gets the recognition he deserves for his hard work at the McCue's party, not to mention a big kiss on the lips from Janet. Both of the homeowners, Janet and David, think the project was a great success and that they have found their dream home. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas recreates a homeward commute from the 1920s, returning by train to Winchester, Massachusetts, a town that retains much of its original early 1900s character. Waiting for him at the station is master carpenter Norm Abram in a classic Ford Model A " Woody." A short drive through town brings them to a 1922 Colonial Revival home in a charming neighborhood known as the "Flats." Steve steps out the back door to find new homeowner (and master gardener) Kim Whittemore pruning perennials. Their tour of the first floor reveals a tired but well-maintained house in need of updating. Meanwhile, general contractor Tom Silva, Norm and plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey search for trouble spots. Convinced that the home has "good bones" and needs primarily only surface work, Steve and Norm seal the deal with new homeowners Kim Whittemore and Bruce Leasure welcoming them to the This Old House family. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas checks in with general contractor Tom Silva and painting contractor Jim Clark, who are busy testing means by which to strip nearly 30 layers of lead-based paint from the exterior of the house. In the backyard, landscape contractor Roger Cook shows homeowner Kim Whittemore how to properly ball and burlap several trees and shrubs, moving them to safety before construction begins. Looking to enlist the help of a good architect, Steve meets project architect David Stirling, whose firm has worked on some 120 houses in Winchester; they tour a beautiful home he designed from the ground up. Later, back at the project house, they meet up with homeowner Bruce Leasure to sketch out some solutions for the master suite. [26 minutes]

Master carpenter Norm Abram arrives on site to find the demo crew suspended over the roof dismantling the top of the unused kitchen chimney. Architect David Stirling and homeowner Kim Whittemore look at the latest plans for expanding the kitchen and improving flow on the first floor. Meanwhile, landscape contractor Roger Cook meets with entomologist Bob Childs to explore ways to save the property's signature hemlocks from a potentially fatal infestation of woolly adelgids, which have been attacking forests up and down the East Coast. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas lends carpenter Charlie Silva a hand in slowly jacking up the second floor, then general contractor Tom Silva glues and bolts reinforcing LVLs to the damaged floor joists. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey arrives to drain the heating system and disconnect the old radiators. In the kitchen, homeowner Kim Whittemore and a friend take down the chimney brick by brick. The next day, some unwanted trees are cut "up" rather than cut down, as they are chain-sawed apart and lifted piece by piece out of the backyard with the help of a large crane. [26 minutes]

It's time to begin excavation on the new Kitchen foundation! Excavater Jeff Dervin brings in a backhoe to knock down the back entry porch. In the basement, master carpenter Norm Abram and general contractor Tom Silva jackhammer through the floor to install footings for a new steel support column. Architect David Stirling presents homeowners Bruce Leasure and Kim Whittemore with a new layout for the master suite, and landscape contractor Roger Cook invites host Steve Thomas and Kim to see a nearby vintage greenhouse for inspiration. [26 minutes]

Contractor Mark Dimeo uses a 30" diamond blade to cut a new doorway into the existing basement foundation. Host Steve Thomas checks in with painting contractor Jim Clark to see how a new non-toxic chemical paint stripper is working on the multiple layers of exterior paint. Architect David Stirling and homeowner Kim Whittemore discuss strategies to deal with the house's asymmetric roof dormers. Then, Steve and Kim go shopping for the new addition's windows. [26 minutes]

Master carpenter Norm Abram shows host Steve Thomas the new foundation for the kitchen addition and explains how to properly anchor it to the old foundation. General contractor Tom Silva and his crew begin demolition on the rotted sections of the sun porch, and Norm explains why they should salvage the roof to save both time and money. Down the street, Steve and homeowner Kim Whittemore visit a recently renovated sun porch, kitchen and media room for design ideas. In the master suite, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey lays out a plan for the rough plumbing. [26 minutes]

Chimney specialist Mark Schaub meets up with host Steve Thomas in the Winchester living room and shows him why the chimney is smoking, with the help of a diagnostic "fluecam." In the kitchen, general contractor Tom Silva shows master carpenter Norm Abram and Steve how he reinforced the framing of the kitchen addition with engineered lumber and steel. Recalling the issue of the cantilevered second floor, Steve takes a look at a major renovation of perhaps the most famous cantilever in the country, that of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. Back at the project house, Steve lends Tom and Norm a hand on the deck structure for the new sun porch. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas finds homeowner Kim Whittemore experimenting with Colonial Revival paint colors on the front of the Winchester house. For further ideas, they travel with building conservation specialist Andrea Gilmore to see a classic Colonial Revival that is a high expression of the style. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey plans a radiant heat solution for keeping the exterior concrete basement stairs ice-free. In a side story, Steve visits a local museum dedicated to Winchester resident and photographer Arthur Griffin, noted for his legendary work with baseball's Ted Williams, and master carpenter Norm Abram takes homeowner Bruce Leasure through a variety of roofing options to replace the house's tired asphalt shingles. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas arrives at the Winchester house to find a surprise in the backyard: the house to the rear is fully exposed now that the neighbors have cut down additional hemlocks. A few miles away, master carpenter Norm Abram takes a look at a real estate development success story -a 1950's ranch has been torn down and replaced by a brand new Colonial Revival handcrafted to feel like an old home. In the Winchester basement, general contractor Tom Silva shows Norm and Steve the adjustments made to help reroute traffic around the future media room instead of through it, and chimney specialist Mark Schaub uses a centrifugal hammer to break up the ailing chimney's old flue. [26 minutes]

The Winchester kitchen addition is nearly complete, and general contractor Tom Silva installs the last of the new historically accurate double-hung windows on the sun porch. In the kitchen, mineral wool-an old-style insulation known for its fire resistance and sound deadening capabilities, now revamped for the residential market-is sprayed into the walls. Custom cabinetmaker Jeff Peavy lays out the design and material choices for the kitchen, and roofing contractor Tom Evarts shows master carpenter Norm Abram his crew's project: architectural asphalt for the main roof, and flat-seam lead-coated copper for the addition. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows host Steve Thomas the new plastic water supply lines, and the heating and cooling system, supplied by flexible 4" ducts. [26 minutes]

Using a 70" tree spade mounted on a front-end loader, landscape contractor Roger Cook and arborist Matt Foti remove a healthy (but poorly located) blue spruce from a front yard in a nearby town and replant it in Winchester to begin the process of screening the backyard. To help with decision-making in the media room, host Steve Thomas and homeowner Bruce Leasure visit a house that has both a high-end theater in the basement and a more modest media room on the first floor. Back at the project house, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Steve three polyethylene tanks that will store 1125 gallons of harvested rainwater for reuse in the garden. Master carpenter Norm Abram takes a trip to Vermont to visit coppersmith Larry Stearns who is busy building a "This Old House" weathervane. [26 minutes]

With the weather turning cooler, host Steve Thomas finds painting contractor Jim Clark under pressure to finish the exterior painting. On the third floor, master carpenter Norm Abram learns that general contractor Tom Silva is off the job site, and in emergency knee surgery, due to a recent injury. With Tom out of commission, his foreman, John Sheridan, gives Norm an update on what's left to do. Steve joins interior designer Manuel de Santaren to see how his firm designed the living room of a similar Colonial Revival. Then, Manuel's partner, Carolina Tress-Balsbaugh, meets Steve and homeowner Kim Whittemore at the project house to present their design ideas for our living room. Flooring contractor Patrick Hunt discovers three different species of wood flooring used throughout the house - heart pine, beech, and oak-and shows Norm how to use a router to neatly patch holes left by the old radiators. In the backyard, Steve finds that landscape contractor Roger Cook has planted a small forest of spruce and white pine to provide both shade and privacy. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas arrives to find landscape contractor Roger Cook out front hauling away the last of the dismantled driveway. Inside, Steve finds a recovering general contractor Tom Silva fresh from surgery, already back on the job site with the aid of a cane. Tom shows Steve an extruded polystyrene crown moulding that is affixed only with joint compound, no nails. In the kitchen, soapstone installer Glenn Bowman shows master carpenter Norm Abram how his crew customizes soapstone counters on site. In a side trip to the Vermont woods, Glenn shows Steve how he is prospecting for deposits of soapstone in a long abandoned quarry. In the garage, Steve finds garage door maker Roger Jurczak installing sectional overhead garage doors designed to look like original 1920's swingout doors. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas visits Middlesex Fells Reservation-a three-by-three mile park shared by five suburban towns North of Boston-and climbs Wright's Tower to take in the cityscape and some vibrant autumnal views. Back in Winchester, Steve helps landscape contractor Roger Cook and concrete contractor Syd March pour and trowel the new front walk. Custom cabinetmaker Jeff Peavey shows Steve the unique features of the newly installed kitchen cabinets. Outside, general contractor Tom Silva shows Steve how to properly measure for storm windows. In a side story, master carpenter Norm Abram finds a custom storm window company in Connecticut that will paint aluminum storms to match any color trim. Under pressure to get the heat on down in the basement, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Steve what's new with radiant heat, and how he plans to heat three different types of floors with three distinct radiant zones. Tom and Norm carry out the architect's plan for elaborate pyramidal mahogany stairs off the sun porch. [26 minutes]

With host Steve Thomas away on assignment, master carpenter Norm Abram arrives to find landscape contractor Roger Cook unloading and inspecting the latest delivery from the garden center. On the sun porch floor, tiling contractor Joe Ferrante shows Norm how to apply grout around the new 12" x 12" Chinese slate tiles. Meanwhile, Steve and interior designer Carolina Tress-Balsbaugh visit a boutique in Boston that has been manufacturing custom lamp shades for 150 years. Things heat up in the master bath as plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey tries out the new steam shower, and then shows Norm how it works. Painting contractor Jim Clark demonstrates tips and techniques for prepping and painting the interior of the house, and flooring contractor Pat Hunt installs a new oak floating floor in the master suite. In the backyard, Roger shows homeowner Kim Whittemore how creative landscaping can conceal the external air conditioning condensers. [26 minutes]

In the second to last show of the Winchester project, host Steve Thomas and homeowner Kim Whittemore test-drive the new stainless steel appliances. Master carpenter Norm Abram meets fencing contractor Mark Bushway to admire the entire custom package: a driveway gate (made to look like the 1920s original), perimeter fence, arbor, and pergola and a new plastic fence post system designed to prevent insect damage and rot. Steve visits a nearby upholstery shop to see several of Kim's chairs, just shipped in from Alabama, being stripped, repaired and reupholstered. Closet system designer Marcy Weisburgh shows Steve how she designed the master closet to accommodate both a window and a steam generator. Electrician Allen Gallant installs a five-arm Colonial Revival chandelier made by a mail order company that builds to order and delivers directly to the jobsite. General contractor Tom Silva and carpenter Jason Wood line the walls with cost-effective built-in bookshelves, made from MDFand poplar laminate. [26 minutes]

In the final show of the Winchester project, host Steve Thomas checks out the new garage storage system, comprised of diamond-plated cabinets, toolboxes and adaptable "gear walls." Window treatment specialist Kevin Murphy shows Steve the custom shades and drapes ordered by mail, and A/V expert Mike Smith shows him an "out of the box" media room solution that won't break the bank. Landscape contractor Roger Cook literally lays the groundwork for a lush new lawn next spring with a three-layer customizable grass seed mat. Master carpenter Norm Abram and coppersmith Larry Stearns install a This Old House weathervane atop the finished garage, while Steve test-drives some high-tech toys for the new home office. Moments before the wrap party begins, interior designer Carolina Tress-Balsbaugh reveals her multi-textured design scheme for the sunroom, living room and dining room. [26 minutes]

For the first time ever, This Old House lets viewers choose the second project: a nationwide Dream Kitchen search results in an online vote, with the Smith family of Lake Forest, Illinois, garnering the most votes. The challenge: somehow find more space in an old, cramped kitchen so that homeowners Mike and Heidi Smith and their five-year-old triplets can cook and eat in comfort. Plans for the 1928 Tudor include new custom cabinets and appliances, relocating an ill-placed powder room and turning an old greenhouse into a new eating area at the front of the house. To allow the family to live in-house during the renovation, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey helps sets up a temporary kitchen on the sun porch, while master carpenter Norm Abram and host Steve Thomas discuss design options with project architect John Krasnodebski. To contain dust and debris during demolition, the kitchen is sealed off from the rest of the house. [26 minutes]

Back in Lake Forest, the day begins in historic Market Square-built in 1916 by Chicago architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, the square is America's first drive-up shopping center. Back at the project house, demolition is already a distant memory as project manager Jim Eimerman shows master carpenter Norm Abram and host Steve Thomas the plumbing and electrical rough in, the new bath stripped and reframed and the brickwork associated with moving windows underway. Steve and homeowner Heidi Smith visit a converted 1920's carriage house belonging to design/builder Kris Boyaris and her husband, architect John Krasnodebski. Then Steve and John discuss the challenges of squeezing a powder room into a former dead space along the hallway. Demolition has revealed several pipes wrapped in asbestos, so Norm catches up with an asbestos abatement team to see an alternative to removal: stabilization and containment. [26 minutes]

The Lake Forest project is well underway, as master carpenter Norm Abram works in his temporary garage workshop making the bracketed posts to be used on the breakfast room's exterior. Host Steve Thomas meets up with project manager Jim Eimerman for an update: the dip in the floor has been addressed with a steel beam in the basement, the floor resheathed with plywood, new windows have arrived, a new concrete floor has been poured in the breakfast room and the drywall is up. In a flashback, Norm sees polyurethane foam insulation blown into the walls. Steve and homeowner Heidi Smith visit kitchen designer Eileen Thurnauer at a showroom not far from the airport, in Hinsdale, Illinois. Back on E. Atteridge, Heidi puts some countertop materials through a stress test, and Norm, Jim and Steve work to install the posts and beam on the front section of the breakfast room.
[26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas and master carpenter Norm Abram arrive in Lake Forest to find local carpenters braving the cold-crafting custom cedar siding for the exterior of the new kitchen addition. In the former greenhouse, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Steve how he saved the homeowners valuable real estate by putting radiant heat under the floors and in the walls of the new eating area. Local historian Paul Bergmann shows Steve a shoreline mansion built in 1911 by one of Chicago's top architects, Benjamin Marshall. A reminder of a bygone era, it is for sale for $25 million. Project manager Jim Eimerman shows Norm the new steel beam in the basement, added level out and support the kitchen floor above, but the solution to this problem was the cause of another-the floor jacking caused substantial cracks in the plaster in other parts of the house. [26 minutes]

With temperatures hovering near zero, host Steve Thomas brings general contractor Tom Silva to Lake Forest for the first time. Before heading to the project house, they decide to check up on project manager Jim Eimerman at one of the other jobs that he is running. Later at the project house, Steve and Tom meet architect John Krasnodebski to talk about ways to minimize the transitions between drywall and brick in the new eating area. Steve tells Tom about a visit he and master carpenter Norm Abram made to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry to see planes, trains and a captured German submarine from World War Two. In the Dream Kitchen, the new pre-finished oak floor is installed, as homeowner Heidi Smith and interior designer Suzanne Cederlund show Steve the emerging plan for the kitchen design. [26 minutes]

Host Steve Thomas visits the Charles Glore House in Lake Forest to see what it's like to live in a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Built in 1951, the Prairie style house's ongoing renovation is a labor of love for its current owner. Back at the project house, the cabinets have arrived in record time, and master carpenter Norm Abram recalls a recent visit to the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country to see them being constructed and finished. In the front hall, painting contractor Ben Evangelista begins repairing the cracks in the plaster caused by jacking the kitchen floor. As promised, it is a quick fix with tape, mud and texturing. With only two weeks to go, project manager Jim Eimerman says he's already working weekends, but predicts he'll finish the job on time. [26 minutes]

On the way to the Lake Forest jobsite, host Steve Thomas visits a stone fabrication shop to see where our Dream Kitchen countertops (an Italian sandstone known as Pietra del Cardoso) came from. Jim Kapcheck, a fourth-generation countertop fabricator, shows Steve what's hot in countertops and how his shop combines automation with hand-craftsmanship. At the jobsite, with only six working days left to go, project manager Jim Eimerman gives Steve a rundown of his punchlist. The countertops go in, Steve lends a hand setting the cast iron farm sink, and plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey installs an elaborate faucet system containing a retractable sprayer head and an undercounter water filtration unit. [26 minutes]

After only 12 short weeks, the Dream Kitchen is complete, and homeowner Heidi Smith and the triplets are already moved in and cooking up treats for the wrap party. Host Steve Thomas sees how a decorative painter treated the inside of the new kitchen cabinets and learns how a new control device will coordinate over 40 individual lights to create different lighting "scenes" for the kitchen. Then, acclaimed Chicago chef Rick Bayless arrives to take the new kitchen for a test drive and, to answer the question "How does a pro cook at home?," shows Steve the inviting, functional kitchen he created in his house on Chicago's North Side. Homeowner Mike Smith reveals that the job cost around $85,000--which doesn't include all the donated products. In the real world, such a transformation would have been $ 200,000 and taken much longer. As the wrap party begins, Steve and master carpenter Norm Abram commend all involved on a job well doneand heartily agree that from location to contractors to homeowners this was a "dream" project indeed. [26 minutes]

Master carpenter Norm Abram welcomes new host Kevin O'Connor aboard with a visit to one of the most ambitious This Old House jobs to date, the Manchester-by-the-Sea project. Wanting to tackle a big job like this on his first time out, Kevin instead ends up in historic Concord, Massachusetts, with a small (but sweet) 20 x 26 foot garden shed that homeowners Jeff and Janet Bernard want to convert into an in-law cottage for Janet's retired parents. Protected by local zoning laws, the shed can't be torn down and rebuilt, so general contractor Tom Silva will reframe the c. 1894 building from the inside out, and plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey will face the challenges of bringing in water, sewer, and gas lines to the building for the first time ever. The cottage is one of the smallest projects in This Old House history, but everyone agrees that although there's not a lot to work with, there's still a lot to do. Janet takes Kevin to see the inspiration for her project, a small garage apartment that's part of an estate currently on the market in Concord for $7.2 million.
[26 minutes]

Work can't begin at the jobsite until permits are issued, so host Kevin O'Connor takes homeowner Janet Bernard to meet Concord building commissioner, John Minty, to see what potential roadblocks she's facing in trying to turn an accessory building into a full-time residence. Then, Kevin meets local architect Holly Cratsley to see a new home she designed to look like an old home, and an accompanying timber frame barn. Meanwhile, with flashlights, ladders, and archival photographs, master carpenter Norm Abram and preservation architect Leonard Baum reconstruct the architectural history of the shed, learning that the building started out as a one-story chicken coop with a hip roof, and that it is indeed older than the zoning law itself - a finding that's essential to moving forward with the town. [26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor arrives to find the newly issued building permit affixed to the building, and work is finally getting underway. Architect Holly Cratsley is officially on board, and Kevin pays a visit to her office to see the first pass at floor plans, elevations, and a scale model of the cottage. Zoning laws only allow for a modest increase in overall volume, so the new one-bedroom cottage will be less than a 1,000-square-feet when it's done. Master carpenter Norm Abram and general contractor Tom Silva prepare to brace a bowed wall, but find a completely rotted sill that needs replacing before they can proceed. They put Kevin to work building two temporary walls, and then driving them into place, taking the weight off the compromised outside wall. The rotted sill comes out, and a new, pressure treated sill goes in. Then, Kevin visits a converted carriage house in Winchester, Massachusetts, that's full of great ideas for the project. Unexpected rain postpones the excavation for the foundation of the new addition.
[26 minutes]

General contractor Tom Silva shows host Kevin O'Connor the progress on the new utility trench - a time-consuming and expensive undertaking that (with several thousand dollars in permit fees) has already eaten up $30,000 of the budget. Concrete cutting contractor Peter Dami is on site to make way for the final connections, using a diamond plated coring drill to bore holes through the 10" foundation wall. Kevin finally meets the most important person on the job -homeowner Janet Bernard's mom, Jacqueline Buckley, who will actually live in the cottage with her husband Len. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey takes Kevin to visit master carpenter Norm Abram at the New Yankee Workshop to see how the shop is heated and cooled - he's thinking of using some of the same solutions (radiant heat, baseboard, and/or split system A/C) at the Concord cottage. Looking for an interior designer who knows how to work with small spaces, Kevin meets Tricia McDonagh in Boston's South End to see how her design firm made a 600-square-foot apartment feel more spacious and inviting. Inside the cottage, all four walls have been reinforced, old sheathing has come down, new plywood has gone up, and the new windows have been framed in.
[26 minutes]

Master electrician Allen Gallant installs PVC conduit 2 feet below the surface of the driveway to allow the 200-amp service to reach the cottage. Using a "mouse," a string, a pull rope, and a vacuum (known to the trade as a "fishing system"), his crew hauls the heavy electrical lines underground from the street to the cottage, a span of over 200 feet. Architect Sarah Susanka shows host Kevin O'Connor a 3,000-square-foot house that illustrates the fundamental design principles outlined in her best-selling book, The Not So Big House. On the second floor of the cottage, carpenter Jason Wood sisters new two-by-eights to the existing two-by-four rafters, and cuts a hole in the roof to accommodate the new dormer. Master carpenter Norm Abram and general contractor Tom Silva push the old roof section out, and let the light in upstairs for the first time in almost 100 years. [26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor arrives at the project house fresh from a jog around the track at Emerson Field - several acres of playgrounds, tennis courts, and ball fields - right in the Bernard's backyard. Homeowner Janet Bernard asks general contractor Tom Silva to relocate the porch stairs on the main house, which now seem too close to the future parking court, and too imposing. Tom suggests some options, but advises Janet to consult her architect, Holly Cratsley, before they proceed. Landscape contractor Roger Cook shows Kevin a 100-year-old Concord grape vine that's growing right in the middle of the work zone. Chances of the vine surviving a transplant are slim, so Roger opts to leave the vine as is, protect it, and propagate it in place. Out back by the future sunroom, master carpenter Norm Abram shows Kevin how to set 2 x 6 foot pressure treated sills squarely on the new foundation using sill seal foam insulation and fasteners. In nearby Lincoln, Massachusetts, Kevin meets park ranger Lou Sidiris for a look at Minuteman National Historical Park and the Hartwell Tavern, a 1733 building that was the typical country inn of the Revolutionary War period. With an approved plan, from the architect and an excavator on site, Tom digs the footing for the new porch stairs. [26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor visits the Concord Museum, which houses one of the oldest collections of Americana in the country - including one of the lanterns that hung in the church on the night of Paul Revere's ride, and several items relating to the life of local Concord resident Sam Staples, the man who built our project house. General contractor Tom Silva and master plumber Ron Coldwell show Kevin the progress on the rough plumbing and how adding a shower at the last minute affected the layout of the first floor powder room. In search of more elegant small spaces, Kevin travels to Nantucket, Massachusetts, to meet homeowner Harvey Jones for a look at his charming North Wharf boathouse, and two recently renovated guest cottages near the center of town. Back at the Concord Cottage, master carpenter Norm Abram discovers that the stairs to the second floor are too steep for older residents to navigate, and that headroom is tight on the landing. Tom suggests eliminating a step to reduce the rise, allowing him to both shorten and lower the landing platform to free up the necessary headroom. Then, Kevin lends Norm and Tom a hand building the new staircase.
[26 minutes]

Master carpenter Norm Abram finds general contractor Tom Silva installing exterior trim that looks like wood, but is actually cellular PVC and therefore resistant to rot. Inside, host Kevin O' Connor finds homeowner Jeff Bernard finalizing the lighting plan with master electrician Allen Gallant. In the future sunroom, Kevin lends Norm and Tom a hand installing the new clad windows that look just like homeowner Janet Bernard's traditional wood windows on the main house. At a Menomonie, Wisconsin, facility that produces more than 550 tons of glass per day, float glass expert Al Slavich shows Kevin how residential window glass is manufactured using state-of-the-art technology. Back at the Concord Cottage, with the rough plumbing complete and inspected, it's time to infill the slab. To cut costs, Tom shows Kevin how to make concrete from scratch - 3 parts gravel, 2 parts sand, 1 part cement - mixing it on site with a portable concrete mixer. [26 minutes]

General contractor Tom Silva shows host Kevin O'Connor how the red cedar sidewall shingles are installed in decorative courses, designed by architect Holly Cratsley, in a classic turn-of-the-century pattern. Tom shows Kevin the most complicated part of the job, braiding the shingles to cover both the outside and inside corners. Master carpenter Norm Abram uses a template and router to cut holes in the old barn door for the new windows. Kevin lends him a hand reinforcing the back of the door, and then setting the first window, which is inserted from the back, in order to maintain a low front profile. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Kevin the compact wall-mounted condensing boiler that will save space, energy, and virtually eliminate boiler noise - it's quieter than most refrigerators. In Spring Green, Wisconsin, insulating glass expert Tom Kaiser shows Kevin how residential window glass is coated with silver for energy efficiency, then sandwiched together and injected with argon to form insulating glass panels. Back in Concord, homeowner Jeff Bernard meets with landscape contractor Roger Cook and landscape architect Stephanie Hubbard to see the first pass at the landscape plan, and to discuss the practical aspects of executing it. [26 minutes]

On one of the first cool days of autumn, host Kevin O'Connor arrives to find landscape contractor Roger Cook excavating the jobsite in preparation for the hardscape install. Roofing contractor Alex Alpert shows Kevin how his crew is installing a standing seam copper roof on the new addition. General contractor Tom Silva gives Kevin a progress tour of the interior spaces, showing how the first floor can be transformed to accommodate one-floor living, should it become necessary for the homeowners, Jackie and Len Buckley. On the second floor, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Kevin the new 5-foot cast iron whirlpool tub, a European towel warmer that will also serve as the room's main source of heat, and a split-type air conditioner that will keep the entire second floor cool during the summer. With the new window already set in the center of the old hayloft door, master carpenter Norm Abram shows Kevin how he's making a false exterior door out of medium density overlay. On the island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Kevin visits another small cottage, designed by architect Jeremiah Eck, for an active couple in their 70' s. [26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor finds landscape contractor Roger Cook inspecting a new shipment of select bluestone from Pennsylvania and cobblestones imported from India. Out back, Roger shows Kevin the right way to lay a bluestone patio using stone dust and cement over 3-feet of pack for drainage. Inside the cottage, general contractor Tom Silva shows Kevin how wallboard contractor Paul Landry is hanging wallboard - it' s a new product that's non-combustible, moisture resistant, and mold resistant - an important innovation as mold problems continue to plague the building industry. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Kevin the air-to-air heat exchanger that will bring fresh air into the building and a new radiant heat system, installed in the outside walls going up the stairs. Kevin meets up with homeowner Janet Bernard and interior designer Tricia McDonagh for a preview of her design choices for the cottage. Architect Holly Cratsley takes Kevin to Acton, Massachusetts, to see the in-law suite that she created for homeowner Sylvia Arrom's 90-year-old parents. Back in the kitchen of the main house, family friends Joanne and Jordan Lovejoy show Kevin and Janet how to turn her ripe Concord grapes into jelly.
[26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram arrive at the jobsite to find the base coat of the driveway down, and the new fancy cut shingles finally up on the gable end of the cottage. Landscape contractor Roger Cook shows Kevin how he's laid out the new brick walkway, and raised the grade by the front door to allow for a comfortable 6-inch stair rise. The homeowners have already secured permission to add a ramp for increased accessibility, should it become necessary in the future. In the kitchen, Kevin's surprised to find there's no outside cabinet company on this job - the kitchen's so small that general contractor Tom Silva's crew is building everything on site. Tom and Norm build the base cabinet for the pantry out of veneer plywood, while Roger takes Kevin to see a recently renovated garden center that's currently growing plants on more than 650 acres. They meet owner Wayne Mezitt to select, tag, and dig some of the plants for the Concord project, including Japanese tree lilacs, stewardia, and several spectacular pink diamond hydrangea. Back at the Concord Cottage, in the first floor bathroom, tiling contractor Joe Ferrante shows Norm and Kevin the challenge he' s facing in pitching the whole bathroom floor to a corner drain, while incorporating radiant tubing into the mud job. With just over eight weeks to go on the project, Kevin and Norm check in with Janet and her mom on the status of the job.
[26 minutes]

Master carpenter Norm Abram arrives at the Concord Cottage during the first snow of the season, and finds the bad weather slowing down both the landscaping and the exterior painting. In the future dining room, Norm and general contractor Tom Silva show host Kevin O'Connor how they're creating decorative wall panels by applying chair rail, baseboard, and surface applied mouldings directly to the plaster. In Walpole, Massachusetts, fencing specialist Mark Bushway helps homeowner Janet Bernard pick the right size shed in a style that will compliment the cottage, and back in Concord, Kevin helps Mark put the shed together on site. With the base cabinets complete in the kitchen, Norm and Tom show Kevin a simple way to fabricate the face frames using a pocket hole cutter. In the parking court, landscape contractor Roger Cook shows Kevin how to layout and set regulation size cobblestones in a setting bed of stone dust and cement to achieve a flush finish, and minimize cuts.
[26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor arrives just in time to see the installation of the new fence, trellis, and gate. Then, landscape architect Stephanie Hubbard gives Kevin an update on the landscape plan, explaining how new plantings will help conceal the utility shed in the back corner of the Cottage. Kevin surveys the progress on the first floor and finds a new custom front door in place, as well as a built-in hutch in the dining room made off-site by local cabinetmaker Jon Sammis. General contractor Tom Silva shows Kevin coping techniques -traditional and new-fangled - as he works to build, and fit a cap for the crown molding in the dining room. Kevin stops off at the historic Noah Brooks Tavern in Lincoln, Massachusetts, to see the Junior League of Boston's Show House - an annual event that brings in more than 30,000 visitors to see the work of some of the best interior designers in Boston. Then, Kevin makes a trip to The New Yankee Workshop to see master carpenter Norm Abram's progress on the frame for the interior sliding window unit.
[26 minutes]

It is wall-to-wall subs today. Everyone from the tile guy, to the fireplace guy, to the painter, to the granite-pillar guy - that would be landscape contractor Roger Cook - are at the Concord Cottage. Host Kevin O'Connor checks out Roger's latest project: installing granite bollards in front of the barn door to prevent vehicles from accidentally backing into the barn, while also adding lots of old time character. In the front hall, tile contractor Joe Ferrante is prepping the radiant deck for tile with thin set first then cement board. In the living room, chimney specialist Mark Schaub shows Kevin the new remote controlled gas fireplace that can be vented up or straight out, via an exterior wall, and installs in about one hour. At Boston's Design Center, Kevin meets interior designers Tricia McDonagh and Charles Spada to see the antiques they've selected, and are still considering, for the cottage. Then back at the site, Kevin lends master carpenter Norm Abram a hand installing the sliding windows over the kitchen sink.
[26 minutes]

Despite a cold winter chill, today's the day for sod - 12,000-square-feet of it to be exact. Landscape contractor Roger Cook shows host Kevin O'Connor the unloading and installation of the 48 62-foot long rolls of sod. Then, Kevin meets landscape architect Stephanie Hubbard and homeowner Janet Bernard to learn how the new plants will grow in over the years to create a lush cottage garden. Inside, Kevin finds tile contractor Joe Ferrante laying out and laying down 16 x 24 foot distressed Irish limestone tiles, and finds that general contractor Tom Silva is relying on a team from a local home center to install the engineered maple floor. Meanwhile, master carpenter Norm Abram meets plant manager John Tappan at a factory in Danville, Virginia, to see how engineered flooring is manufactured. In the master suite of the cottage, screen fabricator and installer Steve Primack shows Kevin how he can create a custom retractable screen for the balcony door on site in about one hour. In the living room, Kevin gets an "Interior Painting 101" lesson from painting contractor Jim Clark. [26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor meets architect Holly Cratsley for a look at the exterior details of the Concord Cottage - including a pressure treated southern yellow pine roof shingle that carries a 30-year warranty. In the kitchen, Kevin meets countertop installer Dimitri Kampouris to see the new honed `Black Zimbabwe' granite countertops going in. Upstairs, Kevin finds a crew from a local home center installing a stain resistant carpet that is both durable and soft -a combination that's tough to create. Downstairs in the living room, lead carpenter Jason Wood shows Kevin a few tricks to installing hardware on a rail and stile closet door. Then, Kevin meets stained glass artist Jim Anderson to see the custom windows he's created for the cottage, including one small design that bears an important date - that of the original barn - 1894. Upstairs, Kevin meets John Jawarski, owner of an online custom closet company that lets homeowners design and install their own closet systems. As the day winds down, general contractor Tom Silva clears the decks and puts Kevin to work sealing the stair treads with polyurethane, while master carpenter Norm Abram meets finishing expert Bruce Johnson at a plant in Flora, Illinois, to see how polyurethane and stain are manufactured. [26 minutes]

It's the big day, and host Kevin O'Connor arrives at the completed cottage in style (circa 1894) on a horse named "Daisy." Landscape contractor Roger Cook and master carpenter Norm Abram help him tie up at the new hitching post. Then Kevin catches up with homeowner Janet Bernard for a brief reflection on why the end of the project is bittersweet for her family, and is now more important than ever. Upstairs in the laundry area, home economist Lucinda Ottusch shows Kevin the latest in laundry technology: a washer that can sense how dirty the clothes are while handling 16 pair of jeans at once. Kevin meets lighting designer Susan Arnold to see her interior and exterior lighting choices and to get a demo of a new high-tech radio frequency lighting control system. Plumbing and heating contractor Richard Trethewey shows Norm the finished bathrooms and mechanical room, including a central vacuum system that will help keep the air clean inside the house. Window treatment specialist Kara Roberts shows Kevin the simple white linen panels selected for the cottage windows, and an alternative way to dress them up. Next door in Janet's basement, Kevin meets furniture specialist Debbie McKirihan for a look at the semi-custom furniture her company created for the cottage. Architect Holly Cratsley shows Kevin and homeowner Jackie Buckley the finished kitchen and explains the universal design elements that will make the kitchen easy for people of all ages and abilities to use. Moments before the wrap party begins, interior designer Tricia McDonagh shows Kevin how her design elements work together to evoke the comfortable, classic feeling of an old carriage house. At the wrap party, the crew congratulates general contractor Tom Silva on a job well done - and one that proves that small houses can be big on charm, especially when delivered on time and on budget. [26 minutes]

With their course set for historic and sunny Bermuda, host Kevin O' Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram set sail aboard the Island Raider in search of a winter project house. Once on shore, they zip through the narrow cobblestone streets of St. George on mopeds and arrive at Aunt Nea's Inn where they meet potential This Old House homeowners Andrea Dismont and Delaey Robinson - local innkeepers who want to fix up "Harbour View," a vacant and dilapidated circa 1805 Georgian-style home on their property. The house needs a lot of work, so Kevin meets up with local architect Colin Campbell at a recently renovated home in Pembroke to see if he thinks the project is viable. Meanwhile, Norm tracks down general contractor Alan Burland at a commercial job he's running in Hamilton, and Alan, an eleventh-generation Bermudian, assures Norm that he can handle the job. After weighing the pros and cons of working on a remote island 680 miles out at sea, Norm and Kevin tell Andrea and Delaey that although the renovation is going to be a challenge, This Old House is on board to help them out. [26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram open the show in Southampton at Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, the highest point in Bermuda. Back in St. George, Kevin meets architect Colin Campbell to review his design plans for the renovation and expansion of Harbour View. Norm meets fourth generation quarry man Jonathan Cumberbatch in Smith's parish to see how native limestone is quarried and cut into roofing tiles known as "slate." At the project house, lead mason Dilton Cann shows Norm how he's using the slate, mortar, and cement wash to repair the extensive roof damage caused by hurricane Fabian. General contractor Alan Burland and job foreman John Richardson give Norm a progress tour: the former kitchen and second floor bath have been removed, the cedar roof rafters have been exposed and reinforced, excavation for the new addition is complete, and the window frames are being replaced. Homeowners Andrea Dismont and Delaey Robinson begin stripping their old Bermuda cedar window sash by hand. Now all the team needs is a building permit to begin work on the addition. If the approval is delayed much longer, the job may not be finished by the time This Old House has to head back to Boston.
[26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram welcome plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey to Bermuda in front of St. Peter's Church in St. George. Next door at Aunt Nea's Inn, Norm and Kevin meet homeowner Delaey Robinson to talk about the building permit and the budget. Across the street at Harbour View, general contractor Alan Burland shows Norm how he's using a steel beam to pick up the second floor load, while lead mason Dilton Cann shows Kevin how he's building new walls of the addition out of concrete block. To see how charming an old renovated Bermuda home can be, Alan shows Norm his carefully restored circa 1750 farmhouse in Somerset. Back at the project house, master plumber Gerald Smith shows Richard how two existing cisterns or "tanks" will collect rainwater from the roof to supply the house with drinking water. Kevin meets master electrician Noel Vanputten to see how the electrical rough-in is progressing on the old house (Bermuda stone) and the new addition (concrete block). Although the progress may appear to be slow, Norm, Richard, and Kevin recall that compared with time-consuming wood construction and finishes, the masonry work at Harbour View will come together quickly. [26 minutes]

Master carpenter Norm Abram and host Kevin O'Connor open the show 120 feet below ground exploring the Crystal Caves of Bermuda. Back at Harbour View, Kevin finds project manager Alex DeCouto overseeing the prep and pour of the second floor deck on the addition. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey meets civil engineer Keith Claridge on a neighborhood roof to see how 95% of Bermudians obtain drinking water - by collecting rainwater in roof catchments and cisterns known as "tanks." They visit a massive military fort turned catchment, as well as a modern reverse osmosis plant to see how the government supplements the water supply. Two weeks of rain might be good for the tank levels, but it's bad for the construction schedule, so foreman John Richardson shows Norm and Kevin how work has progressed on the interior of the house, despite the rain. Then, Norm visits the general contractor's mill shop and volunteers to help out by building a cedar mantel for Harbour View's dining room fireplace. [26 minutes]

Master carpenter Norm Abram welcomes general contractor Tom Silva to the island by getting him properly outfitted in the "full Bermuda." Host Kevin O'Connor meets homeowners Delaey Robinson and Andrea Dismont at Aunt Nea's Inn to see how they are managing the renovation while operating the circa 1780 guest house and raising two young boys. They show Kevin the historic mantel they'd like Norm to replicate for their new home. Across the street at the jobsite, Kevin finds foreman John Richardson and lead mason Dilton Cann pouring the bond beam that will unify the structure of the new addition and bear the load of the new stone roof. While measuring for the job, Norm and Tom decide that the firebox needs to be rebuilt to accommodate the new mantle. Worried about time and resources, project manager Alex DeCouto reluctantly agrees to add the masonry work to his list. Kevin meets curator Hugh Davidson for a tour of Verdmont, a house that has not been altered in 300 years, that features an extensive collection Bermuda-made cedar antiques. Later at the mill shop in Hamilton, Tom and Norm get working on the fireplace mantel. Tom's final analysis of the job: there's still a lot to do, but as someone who's been in the hot seat before, he knows that the builders can move mountains during the last few weeks, and they're going to have to.
[26 minutes]

There are only three weeks left on the job, and any materials and products not already aboard a ship to Bermuda are not going to make it in time. So master carpenter Norm Abram and host Kevin O'Connor head down to the docks of Hamilton to greet the "Bermuda Islander" container ship, just in from New Jersey. Back at Harbour View, Kevin meets project manager Alex DeCouto for an update: landscaping has begun in the south court, the verandah is framed in, and the second floor walls are up. In the basement, Norm finds HVAC contractor Steven Cardoza installing a new high-efficiency heating and cooling system that uses an environmentally responsible refrigerant that won' t deplete the ozone layer. Up in the kitchen, Kevin meets interior designer Michele Smith for a preview of the kitchen elevations. Then, homeowner Andrea Dismont and job foreman John Richardson show Kevin their recently discovered treasure - an 1884 gold sovereign found beneath the dining room floor. Kevin meets Dr. Ed Harris for a tour of Bermuda's Royal Naval Dockyard. Once known as the "Gibraltar of the West," Dockyard is still the largest fort in Bermuda and the largest tourist destination on the island. Kevin finds kitchen contractor Mark Henneberger unloading the kitchen cabinets that have just been cleared through customs from Canada.
[26 minutes]

After welcoming landscape contractor Roger Cook to Bermuda, host Kevin O'Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram meet with project manager Alex DeCouto in the North court to see the scaffolding down, the old building painted and the landscaping well underway. Inside, Alex shows Norm the new cedar French doors and oiled bronze hardware - an ideal combination for this seaside location. Kevin finds kitchen contractor Mark Henneberger finishing up the countertop install - it' s a new quartz material that is non-porous, two times stronger than granite, maintenance free, and carries a 10-year warranty. In the upstairs hall, Kevin finds interiors specialist Jennifra Gray installing a faux Bermuda stone - it's closed cell polymer that gives the look of natural limestone without the maintenance issues or cost. Then, Alex and Norm meet tiling contractor Gene Aitkin to see his work in the boys' bathroom, and the progress on the master bath, which has been slow due to last-minute changes and additions. In the dining room, Kevin meets painting contractor Paul Mathias for a lesson in applying a 3-coat latex paint that results in a "brushed suede" decorative finish. Landscape contractor Jeff Sousa shows Roger the local flora at private nursery only open to the trade, and on a challenging (and dramatic) finished lot in Paget. Back at Harbour View, Jeff shows Roger how his crew is installing Mexican river rocks and Turkish travertine pavers to create a courtyard for two outdoor spa units. The end of the day brings the flooring installers, and this time it's Randy Stafford putting down a hand-scraped engineered floating floor in the master suite.
[26 minutes]

It's the day before the wrap, and host Kevin O'Connor finds homeowner Delaey Robinson believing in miracles, standing in his new state-of-the-art kitchen, which was a water-damaged storage room only four short months ago. He shows Kevin a stainless steel task sink, professional style range, and 48" refrigerator, as well as a snap-together indoor/outdoor hardwood floor for the entryway. Upstairs, Kevin finds homeowner Andrea Dismont setting up a custom closet system in the master suite. Then, she shows Kevin another space saver - a stackable front-loading washer and dryer in the new laundry closet. Master carpenter Norm Abram meets exterior shutter expert Fritz Brenner to see the new pulltruded fiberglass Bermuda shutters -they're custom made, factory-finished, and resistant to rot. Window treatment installer JC Lehren shows Kevin the interior plantation shutters going up in the master bedroom. Then, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Kevin the progress in the master bath that's really more "spa" than a bathroom - featuring a soak tub, steam shower, and foot whirlpool. Outside, landscape contractor Roger Cook meets project manager Alex DeCouto for a closer look at the swim spa, hot tub, and composite decks that have just gone in. Then, it's our last day in Bermuda and interior designer Michele Smith shows Kevin the completed living room, dining room, and master suite. Up on the roof, the team assembles for a traditional Bermuda "roof wetting" - a ceremony celebrating the end of the project with rum and good wishes. Making their way down to King's Square, the crew departs Bermuda, once again aboard the Island Raider, bound for Boston and the 25th Anniversary season. [26 minutes]

This Old House celebrates 25 years of home renovation by going back to its roots. The season opens with host Kevin O'Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram taking a look at the first This Old House project in Dorchester, Massachusetts - which the show bought, renovated, and sold in 1979. This season we'll be homeowners again, with some of the proceeds from the sale of the 25th anniversary centerpiece project endowing a new scholarship for the building arts. To find just the right house, Norm takes Kevin to Carlisle, Massachusetts - a beautiful New England town 20 miles outside of Boston. After looking at several properties, This Old House decides to take on an 1849 Greek Revival-style farmstead that's big on charm, but needs a lot of work to be comfortable for a modern family. [26 minutes]

Have house - will renovate! Thanks to an accepted bid, This Old House is now the proud owner of a classic New England farmstead in Carlisle, Massachusetts. To be sure that the house will have all the right amenities, host Kevin O'Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram meet with a local real estate agent Laura Baliestiero to see what buyers are looking for in Carlisle. Then, Kevin asks architect Jeremiah Eck to do the design work, and also checks in with the town's Board of Appeals to understand the bylaws affecting our project. Former resident Eleanor Duren shares photos and memories of her years growing up on the farm. [26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor finds landscape contractor Roger Cook clearing land for a much needed jobsite parking lot. Architect Jeremiah Eck walks master carpenter Norm Abram and Kevin through a 3-D model of his proposed design. Highlights include dramatic reuse of the existing timberframe barn as a "living hall", an updated floor plan incorporating the kitchen and dining room in the new connecting ell, and an addition containing a generous master suite. General contractor Tom Silva brings in a barn jacking crew to lift the 65-ton barn two feet off the ground so his crew can repair the foundation and replace the first floor deck. Demolition contractors arrive to knock down the failing ell, which will be rebuilt using structural insulated panels. [26 minutes]

General contractor Tom Silva brings in an excavator fitted with a hoeram to jackhammer away the ledge standing in the way of our new basement. Using a 3D model, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey explains the anatomy of a septic system, and what we'll have to do to bring our system up to code. Under the jacked up barn, master carpenter Norm Abram shows the state of the existing rubble stone foundation. For inspiration, Kevin travels to Vermont to meet Ken Epworth of "The Barn People" - a group that rescues, restores, and relocates old timberframe barns. Ken shows Kevin how the old barns come down in the field, and how they go back up as restored barns and as dramatic living spaces. [26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor visits Great Brook Farm State Park, a 1,000-acre park and the last working dairy farm in Carlisle, Massachusetts. General contractor Tom Silva shows Kevin how he created a custom crushed stone footing for the foundation using a "stone slinger" - a high-speed conveyor that projects stone as far as 75 feet. Master carpenter Norm Abram oversees the installation of a new insulated foundation system that's pre-cast in a factory and then trucked to the jobsite. Certified arborist Matt Foti shows Kevin and landscape contractor Roger Cook how to relocate the septic tank without harming an old catalpa tree that might be worth saving. [26 minutes]

General contractor Tom Silva uses laminated veneer lumber to make up 40-foot beams that will support the first floor deck of the barn. Host Kevin O'Connor meets panelized construction specialist Jim LeRoy to see the I-joist floor panels for the new ell swinging into place with a crane. Then, master carpenter Norm Abram meets structural insulated panel expert Frank Baker to see the SIPS wall system go up. After discovering that several of our old trees are sick with the fatal Dutch Elm and Ash Yellows diseases, certified arborist Matt Foti brings in two crews with bucket trucks to safely remove them. At the end of the day, Tom and Norm are surprised to learn that the barn was built with one side shorter than the other - a quirk that will cost them time and money. [26 minutes]

Detectorist Bob Phillips discovers a cannonball at the jobsite that may be a souvenir from the war of 1812. Master carpenter Norm Abram shows host Kevin O'Connor the progress on the framing of the old Greek Revival house and the new connecting ell. General contractor Tom Silva introduces Kevin to two carpentry students who are part of the THIS OLD HOUSE 25th Anniversary apprenticeship program. Then, Tom explains how he's built up all 10 posts on the short side of the barn by using scarf joints to make the connections. Kevin travels to New Haven, Connecticut, to see the Yale Building Project - a graduate class that requires ivy-league architecture students to "learn by doing" as they design and build a stylish urban home in a low-income neighborhood. Back at the HOUSE project, Norm meets structural insulated panel expert Frank Baker to see another application for SIPS technology - it's a fast way to install an insulated structural floor. [26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor and landscape contractor Roger Cook meet landscape architect Stephanie Hubbard to review her latest plan for the property, which features the rural simplicity of open spaces, low stone walls, hedges and a few new elm trees. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey installs a new 2,000-gallon dual compartment septic tank and formulates a plan for the rough plumbing. Master carpenter Norm Abram meets architect Jeremiah Eck to learn how his modern window selections will update the New England farmstead vernacular. In Park City, Utah, Kevin visits a house that is all about windows, and a whole lot more. General contractor Tom Silva brings in specialist Kevin Kirkland to treat the new construction with a non-toxic borate solution to protect against future insect infestations. [26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor drives up to find landscaping finally underway and the house full of 100 newly arrived windows. Stone wall expert Nick O'Hara shows Kevin why he has to send back an entire truckload of fieldstone - it's lacking the character necessary to build a traditional New England farmer's wall. General contractor Tom Silva gives Kevin a lesson in how to properly flash a window. In the future kitchen, Kevin and master carpenter Norm Abram wonder if the kitchen is too big and enlist the help of certified kitchen designer, Kathy Marshall, to help define the space. Kathy shows Kevin a dream kitchen that she recently created for a family of four, as well as a cabinet showroom where the design process begins for the Carlisle kitchen. [26 minutes]

Landscape contractor Roger Cook shows host Kevin O'Connor how he's reusing the old foundation capstones as granite steps to connect the two driveways. Mason Mike Lapitsky explains to Kevin how he selects, chisels, and dry fits old New England fieldstone to create a farmer's wall. Inside the barn, master carpenter Norm Abram shows Kevin how the "living hall" is taking shape - all of the windows are in, all three of the floor decks are in place, and the rough plumbing is complete. Entomologist Ron Schwalb treats the old timbers for insects and mold using a borate-based solution. For inspiration, architect Jeremiah Eck takes Kevin to see a dramatic great room and Rumford fireplace at a home he's recently designed in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Kevin lends Norm and general contractor Tom Silva a hand as they raise the ceilings in the future kids' room three inches to achieve much-needed headroom. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey brings in well contractor Dave Hayes to test the flow and capacity of the existing well - with surprising results. [26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor finds general contractor Tom Silva milling up exterior window casings that look like wood, but are actually made out of cellular PVC material that is resistant to rot. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey installs PEX water supply lines throughout the house. In the barn, chimney specialist Mark Schaub shows master carpenter Norm Abram the final design of the Rumford fireplace and chosen materials - granite hearth, fieldstone surround, soapstone firebox, and recycled oak lintel. Kevin welcomes senior design consultant Alexa Hampton to the show by visiting a 10,000-thousand square-foot French Neoclassical home that she's working on in New Orleans. Back in Carlisle, kitchen designer Kathy Marshall presents her plans for the kitchen using cardboard mock-ups of the proposed cabinetry. [26 minutes]

With the house just about to go on the market, real estate agent Laura Baliestiero shows host Kevin O'Connor how she plans to present the renovated farmstead to potential buyers. Roofing contractor Mark McNicholas shows Norm how his crew is putting down a traditional 30-year, black 3-tab shingle to achieve a crisp black roofline. In the barn, chimney specialist Mark Schaub works with general contractor Tom Silva and landscape contractor Roger Cook to design and install the new fieldstone hearthstone. Outside, Roger cuts down the 500-pound stone, while inside Tom scribes the wood sub-floor to accept the new hearth. Carpentry apprentices Joe Langlais and Laura Cyr begin installing pre-finished cedar shingle panels on the barn, while Kevin visits Minuteman Regional High School to see what the apprentices do when they are not on the jobsite. At the end of they day, Kevin helps the crew roll the finished hearthstone into the barn on a system of PVC rollers. Thanks to Tom's accurate templates and Roger's precision cutting, it's a perfect fit. [26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor opens the show in Concord, Massachusetts where dozens of stately elm trees once lined Main Street - until Dutch Elm disease nearly destroyed them all. At the project house, elm tree specialist Roger Holloway plants two three-inch caliper Princeton Elms - a disease-resistant cultivar that is helping return the elm to the American landscape. Well contractor David Haynes begins prospecting for water in the side yard, while master electrician Allen Gallant shows master carpenter Norm Abram the challenge he's facing with wiring both the SIPs and the timberframe barn. Lighting designer Susan Arnold shows Kevin some creative lighting solutions at another renovated barn in Reading, Massachusetts. General contractor Tom Silva installs pre-finished cedar shingle panels that go up six times faster than individual shingles and carry a 35-year warranty. As darkness falls, the new well is already 200 feet deep, and counting. [26 minutes]

General contractor Tom Silva reports that after two days of drilling, the well contractors finally found water - 700 feet down. Master carpenter Norm Abram shows host Kevin O'Connor the progress in the future garage and how the space can be heated with up to five zones of radiant heat in the slab. In the barn, Norm finds mason Tony Martin creating a veneer for the fireplace surround out of fieldstone and mortar. At a stone supply yard in Woburn, Massachusetts, Kevin learns how to select granite countertops from granite specialist Susan Tuller and interior designer Alexa Hampton. Paint color specialist Bonnie Krims shows Kevin historical paint color schemes for the project house. For the benefit of the paint job (and his crew) painting contractor Jim Clark sets up shop in the heated basement to paint the fiber cement siding before it goes up. [26 minutes]

As part of the 25th anniversary season, host Kevin O'Connor returns to the show's first timber frame barn project, the Concord Barn, to see how the building has held up over the last 15 years and to learn from homeowners Lynn and Barbara Wickwire what it's really like to live in a barn. Chimney specialist Mark Schaub oversees the prep and pour of a new flue for the living hall fireplace. Back in Carlisle, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Kevin the anatomy of the new submersible pump that will be 400 feet underground inside the new well. Master carpenter Norm Abram and general contractor Tom Silva show Kevin how to work with the latest generation of pressure treated lumber while building the front entry porch. [26 minutes]

Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows host Kevin O' Connor how the utility company will make a new gas connection to the house. Landscape contractor Roger Cook brings in paving contractor Don Sloan to lay the basecoat of the lower driveway. Master carpenter Norm Abram shows Kevin how carpenter Charlie Silva is installing pre-painted fiber cement siding to the exterior of the house. Kevin meets in-home media specialist Todd Riley at a showroom in Braintree, Massachusetts, to see what's available today in home automation and media systems technology. General contractor Tom Silva reveals the engineering behind the stringer-less staircase that will extend from the garage to the third floor of the barn. [26 minutes]

Nurseryman Peter Mezzit arrives on site with a truckload of plant material, and (with frost on the ground) it's not a moment too soon. \andscape contractor Roger Cook unloads the plants while landscape architect Stephanie Hubbard reviews the placement of the new birch trees. Inside the barn, Norm finds Tom overseeing the insulation of the barn with a water-blown expanding soft foam insulation. To learn the language of Greek temple architecture and how it influenced the American Greek Revival period, architect Thomas Gordon Smith shows Kevin a full-scale model of the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee, and an ornate house called "Rattle & Snap." Back in Carlisle, in the master bathroom, Norm finds plasterer Stephen Norton hanging wallboard - made out of a new product that's non-combustible, moisture resistant and mold resistant - an important innovation as mold problems continue to plague the building industry. [26 minutes]

Despite freezing temperatures, landscape contractor Roger Cook lays down sod in the front yard. Inside the Carlisle farmstead, plastering contractor Stephen Norton gives host Kevin O'Connor a lesson in the fine art of plastering. In the lower driveway, master carpenter Norm Abram finds garage door specialist Keith Tate and installer Dave Ferguson finishing up the installation of the custom garage doors. Then, Norm travels to upstate New York to meet architect Gil Schafer for a look at a new house that was designed to feel like a period Greek Revival. Back in Carlisle, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Kevin the new radiant floor heating system going down in the barn. [26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor finds landscape contractor Roger Cook and his crew finishing up the bluestone terrace and retaining wall under the protection of a heated tent. Generator specialist John Barros shows Kevin the new standby generator that will restore power to the house in less than 30 seconds in the event of a power failure. In the barn, general contractor Tom Silva shows master carpenter Norm Abram the new parging on the chimney, and how he's recreating the look of the old barn loft on the new barn ceilings. Kevin visits one of the largest antique lighting restoration houses in New England to see if they can save the old barn fixture. In the master bath, Norm finds tile contractor Joe Ferrante laying out the recently arrived handmade tile. On the third floor of the barn, Kevin finds plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey installing the air handler that will provide cool air for the living hall, as well as a hydro-air unit that will provide both heating and cooling to the guest suite. [26 minutes]

Master carpenter Norm Abram learns how the seamless, clog-less gutter system for the barn is fabricated and installed. Flooring contractor Patrick Hunt shows host Kevin O'Connor how to install a pre-finished engineered cherry floor throughout the first floor of the house. General contractor Tom Silva builds the railing system for the barn stairway, while plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey visits a new product design and testing facility for the plumbing industry. Wine cellar contractor Michael Galvin shows Kevin a 3-D fly-through animation of the future wine cellar. At the end of the day, cabinets for the kitchen, pantry, wet bar and laundry room arrive on a truck from Pennsylvania. [26 minutes]

In the barn, master carpenter Norm Abram meets up with chimney specialist Mark Schaub to determine if his oak lintel above the fireplace is truly safe and if it will meet code. Host Kevin O'Connor meets senior design consultant Alexa Hampton for a sneak peek at the furniture and fabrics for the dining room. Kevin visits a showroom that specializes in high-density polyurethane trim, and general contractor Tom Silva shows him what it's like to work with. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey walks Kevin through the anatomy of the mechanical room. Back in the barn, there is a surprising twist - just a few hours into it, the fireplace has already failed the safety test and Norm breaks it to Mark that he must swap out the wood for a masonry lintel. Cabinet specialist Maureen MacDonald shows Norm the newly installed cabinets in the office, kitchen and pantry. The day ends with the much-anticipated arrival of the built-ins for the library. [26 minutes]

On the back porch, installer Steve Primack shows master carpenter Norm Abram the new motorized screen system. Closet designer Marcy Weisburgh shows host Kevin O'Connor the mudroom and master closet, and shares strategies for smart closet planning. General contractor Tom Silva installs the custom-made interior double doors and oil-rubbed bronze hardware. Furniture maker Robert Hanlon explains to Norm how he made the hand-planed African mahogany wood countertops for the kitchen island and home office. In the guest bath shower, Kevin finds Tom installing solid-surface shower walls instead of tile. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey then travels to New Bern, North Carolina, to see how the dishwashers are made by one of the leading appliance manufacturers in the world. Back in Carlisle, the completed wine cellar is presented, and wallpaper blocks are applied in the master bedroom. [26 minutes]

Master carpenter Norm Abram meets lighting designer Susan Arnold for a look at the modern (but practical) cable lighting system in the kitchen. The limestone tub deck is installed in the master bath, while plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey installs an undermount sink in a freestanding vanity in the kids' bath. In the basement of the barn, Norm finds garage system specialist Christopher Hubbuch installing a new workshop storage system. Designer Beth Ferencik shows landscape contractor Roger Cook the handcrafted teak furniture and accessories she's selected for the terrace. Then, Richard shows Norm the last pieces of the HVAC story - the condensers (that use a refrigerant that won't deplete the ozone layer) and the heat-recovery ventilators (that will bring fresh air into the sealed-tight house). Alarm specialist Don Martini shows Norm the latest innovation in his field - an access keypad that unlocks the front door with the swipe of a key tag, while keeping a log of comings and goings on the household computer. Finishing specialist John Dee shows Norm how he's going to stain the pine stair treads to match the engineered hickory flooring. [26 minutes]

The designer show house begins as interior designer Mally Skok welcomes master carpenter Norm Abram to the dramatic entry hall. In the barn, senior design consultant Alexa Hampton discovers the decorated loft space and guest suite. General contractor Tom Silva shows host Kevin O'Connor how he's creating saddle thresholds out of oak. Kevin meets kitchen designer Kathy Marshall for a look at the completed kitchen. Kevin pays a visit to the NEW YANKEE WORKSHOP to see Norm's progress on the TV hutch for the living hall. Designers Charles Spada and Hilary Bovey reveal their designs for the classical library and the whimsical breakfast room. [26 minutes]

Host Kevin O'Connor and senior design consultant Alexa Hampton continue to explore the designer show house through the work of designers Gracyn Whitman, Lisa Newman Paratore and a company that produces furnishings especially for teenagers. General Contractor Tom Silva shows Kevin how he's going to extend the sliding barn door to make up the difference lost in the barn jacking. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows Alexa the new six-foot whirlpool tub and walk-in shower room in the master bath. Designer Frank Roop gives master carpenter Norm Abram a look at his Mediterranean-inspired master bedroom. Painting contractor Jim Clark finishes up the last of the trim, and Alexa gets to show off her own space - a formal dining room featuring damask upholstered walls and clean, classic furnishings. [26 minutes]

On the last day of the project, host Kevin O'Connor joins architect Jeremiah Eck for a look at the finished house. The show house continues as garden designer Richard Magnuson shows landscape contractor Roger Cook the rustic barn court. Senior design consultant Alexa Hampton meets Christine Welsh for a look at the sophisticated library hallway, and Robin Pelissier shows master carpenter Norm Abram how she brought a little glamour to the screen porch on the backside of the barn. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey drops in on designer Katy Flammia to see her fun and luxurious first-floor laundry room. In-home media specialist Dave Tovissi shows Kevin a flat screen wireless LCD TV and the state-of-the-art media alcove. In the barn entry, designer Kathleen Kennedy shows general contractor Tom Silva how she worked with the barn timbers (not against them) to design her space. As the wrap party approaches, designer Eric Cohler reveals the finished two-story barn "living hall" as a complete destination for family and friends. Outside, the team marvels at how Tom Silva and the entire crew completed a high-quality, two-year project in less than one year; it's quite possibly the greatest accomplishment in the show's 25-year history. [26 minutes]